


Fictional Relationships

by ButtonMasherFTW



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bad Jokes, F/F, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Slow Burn, Yang is a hopeless lesbian, dad jokes, fake dating au, terrible puns, writer blake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2019-10-09 16:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 145,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17409989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ButtonMasherFTW/pseuds/ButtonMasherFTW
Summary: She stared right into the bright golden mask of a knight, their armor tarnished by splatters of blood and other gore the Princess tried not to notice, lest she give reason for her stomach to spill its contents. The Knight was speaking to her in low tones, but the thudding of her own pulse prevented her from understanding the words. After taking several deep breaths, the Knights words started to become tangible.“You are safe now my lad-”Delete, Delete, Delete“It’s going to be alri-”Deeeeeellllleeettteeeee“Are you-”DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETEORThe story where Blake is a writer and Yang is a gay mess.





	1. The Writer’s Dilemma

The sack was hastily pulled off her head, it’s rough material pulling at her hair and scratching her skin. After blinking a few times to readjust her sight the Princess was greeted by a scene of death. The bodies of her would be kidnappers lay strewn about like the aftermath of some grotesque battlefield as the smell of blood protruded her sense of smell.

Her breathing became quick and short as panic started to seize in her throat, feeling bile building up and threatening to come up from the pit of her stomach. A pair of rough hands had suddenly taken hold of the Princess’s cheeks, directing her gaze away from the scene around her.

She stared right into the bright golden mask of a knight, their armor tarnished by splatters of blood and other gore the Princess tried not to notice, lest she give reason for her stomach to spill its contents. The Knight was speaking to her in low tones, but the thudding of her own pulse prevented her from understanding the words. After taking several deep breaths, the Knights words started to become tangible.

“You are safe now my lad-” _Delete, Delete, Delete_

“It’s going to be alri-” _Deeeeeellllleeettteeeee_

“Are you-” _DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE_

Blakes fingers savagely smash at the delete key, effectively erasing the last sentence as she leaned back in her chair with a frustrated sigh.

Working on her latest novel was proving to be a bit tedious, as she’s been trying to make the Knight protagonist some unique individual but has only succeeded in making him a horribly cliche hero. Glancing at the clock on her laptop, Blake realizes that she’s been trying to write the Knights entrance for the last _twenty minutes_ , and hasn’t made any real progress as she’s been deleting nearly everything she has typed.

Her cat ears go flat against her scalp in frustration as she takes off her glasses to rub at her eyes.

“It could be worse Belladonna. Your deadline could be tomorrow and you’d have to explain why you couldn’t write such a simple character arc in the time frame you promised.” She said to no one. After all, she lived alone so thankfully there was no one around to judge her for talking to herself. But her promised deadline wasn’t for many months, so thankfully Blake had all the time in the world to figure out how to write the stupidly heroic Knight who saves the Princess from danger.

Blake has been a professional novelist for the last four years, however she must admit to being slightly out of her comfort zone with her latest work. Her other novels consisted mostly of urban fantasy settings with the protagonists being perfectly capable of getting themselves out of trouble. Or into trouble, depending on the character.

However when her publisher had requested that she come up with something _new_ and _different_ to break her artistic mold, Blake had thought it would be easy. Boy was she wrong... But then again, it wouldn’t be a challenge if it were easy then would it?

Blake shook her head with determination. She _will_ get through this. She just needed to drink some tea and dive back into it! Because tea makes everything better. But as she picked up her mug, her ears drooped in disappointment as she found its contents empty.

“Why is the tea gone?” She muttered to herself. She could have sworn it was a full mug two minutes ago.

With another sigh, she pushed away from her desk, stretching her arms high above her head and hearing a few vertebrae give a satisfying ‘pop’ before grabbing her mug and making her way towards the kitchen.

Setting the kettle on the stove for the water to boil, Blake was reaching for some of her favorite tea when her scroll started to play the iconic Imperial March, signalling an incoming call. She didn’t even have to look at the caller ID as she pulled out the device, the ringtone only played when her publisher called her after all. But why was she calling? Guess it’s true that when you speak of the devil…

Leaning her hip against the kitchen island she answered the call with a confused “Hello?”

_“Good afternoon Blake. I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”_

“Afternoon Weiss. I was actually in the middle of making some tea before typing some more.” She tried to sound as neutral as possible, least she give away just how frustrated she was with her current work.

_“Oh good, so I take it you are at home then?"_

Blake felt her ears pull back as the kettle started to give out a shrilling whistle signalling that the water was ready. “Um, yes, I’m home. Why?” She asked hesitantly as she poured some water into her mug and plopped a bag of her favorite tea into it, filling her kitchen with the aroma of green tea and mint.

_“Are you home alone?”_

Blake stared at her scroll in confusion, why wouldn’t she be alone? “Yeah?”

There was a short sigh on the other line _“Very well, I’ll be there in just a moment.”_ Blake looked at her scroll with an arched brow, but Weiss had already disconnected the call. A second later her doorbell rang twice.

Pocketing her scroll and grabbing her tea, Blake made her way to the door to tentatively open it, finding none other than Weiss Schnee standing on her doorstep dressed in a sharp looking powder blue blouse and skirt with a white pea coat.

For a moment, Blake could only stare blankly at her friend and publisher who stood there looking professional, while she herself was dressed in an oversized black sweater and baggy dark purple sweats. _‘At least I’m wearing a bra…’_ The Fanus thought to herself as she opened the door wider in silent invitation for the other woman to enter.

“I’m sorry for the sudden intrusion Blake.” Weiss said politely as she took her pea coat off and hung it up on the nearby coat rack. She then followed Blake into the living room where they both sat on the oversized couch. The faunus folding her feet beneath her as she sat down with her tea in her lap, while Weiss sat ramrod straight on the opposite side.

Weiss was the first publisher that Blake ever worked with who truly didn’t care that she was a faunus. Kind of shocking when Blake thought about it, given that Weiss’s father was the Jacques Schnee, owner and head CEO of the famous, or infamous given one's point of view, Remnant Times. And after working together for the better part of three years, the two had come into something of a friendship. Blake wouldn’t call her boss her _best friend_ , but still friends, which is how she could tell there was more to Weiss’s visit than her simply wanting to stop by for a visit.

“It’s no trouble. Though I am curious to know why you decided to suddenly drop by. It isn’t about the new story is it?” Blake asked as she brought her tea up to inhale the scent of mint to try and center her thoughts.

Despite just asking, she _knew_ this visit wasn’t about her current work. Weiss is usually more professional about such things. For example She would have emailed the writer with a progress request.

Weiss made a waving motion with her hand even before Blake was finished speaking. “No, not at all. We’ve just barely agreed on having the manuscript drafted for review. I won’t be bothering you about the deadline for at least another few months.”

They both shared a chuckle at that. The first time Blake was behind schedule, it was like she was getting emails from Weiss every hour. Needless to say, she had only made that mistake once.

Okay, twice. But _still..._

Suddenly holding up an ivory envelope that she had been holding since taking off her coat, Weiss then abruptly handed it to the faunus. “However, this visit is work related I’m afraid. I just thought it would be better to do this in person rather than by email.” Blake set her tea down on the coffee table to take the envelope, only to very nearly drop it as she read who it was from.

It was a letter from the Remnant Literature Awards Committee.

Tearing open the envelope with haste, she quickly read the letters contents while Weiss watched her silently from her side of the couch.

“I- I’ve been nominated to receive an award in the fiction category?” Blakes said after a few minutes. As her hands started to slightly tremble she quickly set the letter down next to her tea and just stared at it for a moment longer, hugging her midsection as she tried to determine if this was real or not.

“Yes, that’s right. The ceremony wont take place until this November, however… Blake, you will have to attend the ceremony regardless if you win the category or not.” Weiss had scooted closer to the dark haired woman as her whole body visibly began to shake.

Weiss had moved to rest a hand on the faunus’s shoulder “Blake, _breathe…_ ”

Blake did her best to focus on her breathing, which had become too quick too fast. Thinking of all the people, of _hundreds_ of people that would be there, had started to send her into a panic attack.

Shortly after the popularity of her first book release, she had a book signing event where hundreds of people had showed up. However when she had lingered longer then scheduled to talk with fans as everything was being packed up, no one caught sight of the individual with the knife.

One moment she was laughing and sharing a moment with an older couple, talking about her book, the next she felt an arm slide to her left side followed by a burning sensation that quickly turned into pain. The police said it was most likely a hate crime, but they never found the individual who did it.

There were times when Blake felt like the police never truly cared about finding her attacker during their investigations. But the knowledge of knowing that the person was still out there caused the young writer to go into a panic attack whenever confronted with large groups of people.

Apparently, the mere thought of interacting with a large crowd could also trigger a panic attack. _‘Learn something new everyday.’_ Blake tried to mentally joke with herself as she began to feel herself starting to calm down.

It took Blake several more minutes before she was calm enough to fully sit up and her breathing mostly back to normal. She gave Weiss a nod of thanks, however the white haired woman had a apologetic expression. “There’s more isn’t there.” Blake said matter of factly, her voice sounding rough even to her own ears.

Weiss nodded. “Before the ceremony in November, there are several agencies who have been making requests that you host several book signings. _And_ ,” She paused as if preparing for the dark haired woman to spiral back into another panic attack. “And they’ve also made a formal request that you attend this years Authors Convention in July to take part in a Q and A panel.”

Blakes ears flattened against her skull to the point they hurt.

Standing abruptly, Blake wrapped her arms tighter around herself and began to pace. Weiss stood in response but stayed near the couch.

“The awards ceremony is one thing Weiss, but only because it’s every author's dream come true. But, but _this..._ ” She was trying desperately not to become frantic.

_‘Breathe Blake, in and out, just breathe, in and out…’_ She chanted in her head as she felt another panic attack urging to come around.

Weiss had put her hands on Blake’s shoulders, effectively stopping the faunus from further pacing. “I know Blake, believe me, _I know._ ”

Gold eyes stared into blue for what seemed like minutes, but was really only a few seconds before Weiss continued in a softer voice.

“I did what I could to make your personal appearance unnecessary, but some of the requests couldn’t be turned down least it ruin your chances of winning this award. However I was able to reach a compromise that the committee readily agreed to.” Blake's ears perked slightly as she raised a single eyebrow at the other woman.

It was Weiss’s turn to pace as she had her hands on her hips, a sure sign she was a bit stressed about the topic as well.

“Granted, it depends on what they have to say specifically on the matter or if there are any conflicts with their schedule. But I arranged it so that your girlfriend could be in attendance at your upcoming appearances, including the convention panel. Having them attend the awards ceremony was a given however, as it’s common practice for people to bring family or loved ones to the event.”

Blake's brain came to a complete halt as a completely _different_ kind of panic started to take hold.

Weiss turned back to face Blake, mistaking the writers posture for one of relief. “I know you’re quite secretive when it comes to your personal life Blake, you do have a right to your privacy after all. However I think it would be beneficial if you asked them to attend the upcoming events with you. That way, you’ll have someone you trust constantly by your side in case you have a panic attack.”

_‘So that’s why she asked if I was home alone.’_ Blake thought. She swore her lifespan had decreased by a good ten years by all the stress caused in a single afternoon.

Regardless, the faunus did her best to meet hopeful blue eyes and nodded meekly. “Yeah, sounds great. I, uh, I’ll ask when she gets back into town. She’s visiting family again.” Blake tried to smile reassuringly, doing her best to not sound as awkward as she felt.

Weiss however just gave her an approving nod before looking at her small wrist watch. “Well, not to sound brash, but I hope they’ll be back in town by the end of the week. I still have to finalize the paperwork regarding transportation and other expenditures by then.” She then turned and walked towards the entrance to grab her coat, missing how Blakes expression mirrored one of sheer panic before she was able to quickly school her features into something more neutral before joining Weiss at the front door.

“I have to get back to the office, but I’ll email you with more information regarding the upcoming events once I get details from the marketing team. And Blake?” Weiss paused with one hand on the doorknob, waiting for the writer to meet her gaze. “If this whole thing turns out to be too much for you, please let me know, okay? No amount of literature awards are worth it, if all it does is cause you is pain. Understand?”

Blake was touched by the genuine concern in Weiss’s voice as she nodded in response. “Thank you Weiss. I will, I promise.” This time her smile, though small, was genuine as she watched Weiss return the smile before turning and making her way to her car.

Blake watched from her doorway as the white Lexus made its way out of her long gravel driveway until it was out of sight before going back inside. Walking to her office, her tea left behind as it was no doubt cold and unappetizing by now, Blake sat heavily at her desk.

Her laptop was in sleep mode and for what seemed like several minutes, Blake just stared at the shoal of cartoon tuna swim across her screen before seeing one of her books sitting under a pile of footnotes and other papers.

Ears drooping, she silently reached for the book, not caring that some of her notes and rough drafts slid off the desk to fall onto the floor.

It was a hardback copy of her previous book, a romantic comedy depicting a young rabbit faunus who, despite being socially awkward, attracts the attention of a human. But with the support of her friends, she learns that the fashionably dressed human was just as awkward as she was. However, the book’s story wasn’t the reason why she had picked it up.

Opening the book, Blake flipped to the last page where it showed a picture of herself, sitting on a bench with a copy of her first book in her lap, even though its cover doesn’t show in the picture itself. Below the photo, a short paragraph which served as her author's bio read:

_‘Blake Belladonna is a graduate of Beacon Academy where she earned her Masters Degree in English literature. She has written several best sellers such as Ivory Fang, Iceflower, and The Sea God's Plight. She lives in Vale where she enjoys reading books as much as writing them, much to her girlfriends amusement and dismay.’_

Blake let out a deep sigh. Shortly after graduating college she had found a publisher to work with in releasing her first novel. During that time he had told her that she needed to come up with something to make herself more relatable to her readers. But rather than making up an alias or pretending to be human, like he suggested, she came up with an imaginary girlfriend instead.

Other than actually being bisexual, Blake no longer remembers the legitimate reasoning behind her decision on making up a girlfriend. However when the book was finally published, the popularity of it exploded in the LGBT community, thus leading its popularity into other circles. So she kept the fact that she was actually single, a secret.

After working with Weiss however, who is attentive to the smallest of details, Blake had to elaborate.

Blake had tried telling Weiss the truth on numerous occasions, but for whatever reason she would chicken out and come up with yet another lie. _“They couldn’t make it due to work.”_ Or _“They’re away visiting family”_ and her favorite _“You just missed her, she just left to go to the store.”_

Blake knew she was just digging the hole she was in deeper and deeper each time. And now… Well now Blake knew she had hit rock bottom.

She’ll have to tell Weiss the truth. She just has to scrape together enough courage to actually fess up.

“And you have one week to do it, Blake.” She angrily said to herself, tossing the book back onto her cluttered desk, sending more of her notes into a scattered mess. But she couldn’t be bothered to care about it at this moment.

Blake curled in on herself in her office chair and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I started this story purely because I had a serious craving to read a Bumblebly Fake Dating AU, but encountered a few problems… It was either-
> 
> 1) I’ve already read that one.  
> OR  
> 2) This one has been discontinued/dropped/hasn’t been updated since the dawn of time.
> 
> So yeah... Needless to say I may have then wrote up some ideas, then promptly made the mistake of showing them to my Beta reader/RL sibling TuxedoBird, aaannnnd that’s how I found myself now chained to a desk located in a dungeon! 
> 
> Could be worse, I at least I still have internet access down here. I could use some tea though…. 
> 
> P.S- I really have no idea what I’m doing when I’m talking about authors and awards and book signings and other stuff. I’m just trying to make it all sound believable honestly. Anyone got any pointers? Please feel free to toss them at me threw the dungeon bars! 
> 
> P.S.S- Send hot pockets.


	2. The Fighters Envy

_“Thank you Julie. And now, moving over to Gabe with a look at this weeks-” blip_

_“-Oxywash! Gets the tough dirt out! Call now and get-” blip_

_“-The lioness stalks her prey. Queen of her domain, she patiently waits for the wild boar before-” blip_

_“-Putting him into the cage! Things are not looking good for Tortoise as Usagi throws another right hook!”_ Yang finally sets the remote aside as she pulls the bowl of chips into her lap and props her feet onto the coffee table.

She would have preferred a kickboxing match, but _meh_. It was either this, or go back a few dozen channels to watch the Appraisals Roadshow. _Hmmmm_ , Watch creepy old grandma knickknacks turn out to be worth thousands of lien, or watch two guys beat each other up in a MMA cage match?

Choices.

_‘Ah who am I kidding, I’d take two dudes in a cage match over dusty decorative junk any day.’_ She thought to herself, popping a few chips into her mouth and loudly crunched on the salty snack.

Yang watched the fight in relative silence, the only noise coming from the tv and her loud crunching of chips. She would occasionally hiss or flinch in sympathy whenever one of the fighters landed a particularly solid punch or kick. Being a former kickboxer herself, Yang had first hand experience on just how much liver punches _hurt._

_“And the tables have turned!! Tortoise has Usagi in a choke hold!! IT’S ALL O-”_ The television suddenly went dark as Yang made a particularly loud noise of protest, leaning her head back to see the culprit still holding the remote.

“ _Pyyrrhaaaaaa_ , I was watching that!” She whined. Pyrrha had her hip pressed against the back of the couch, arm still outstretched from turning the tv off.

The redhead frowned slightly as she leaned forward and snatched the bowl of remaining chips from Yangs lap. “And I thought we were suppose to have lunch with Jaune at the mall. Why are you still in your pajamas Yang? We’re supposed to be leaving in ten minutes, get dressed already.” Pyrrha then stalked off to the kitchen, presumably to hide the chips, or throw them out. Yang could never tell with her.

“Uuughh, okay _mom!_ ” Yang made a few more undignified noises as she got up to shuffle towards her room.

Yang and Pyrrha have been friends long before they were roommates, having known each other since they were in high school. They even practiced kickboxing together, but unfortunately Pyrrha had developed a heart condition after graduation that prevented her from continuing the sport. Yang however had taken her kickboxing skills to the next level and went pro. Kicking ass right up until the incident that had resulted in her losing her right arm, effectively forcing her into early retirement.

While stripping herself out of her beloved orange and black sleepwear, Yang had caught sight of the yellow metal and black carbon fiber limb in her closet mirror. She gave it a sour look before digging in a pile of _hopefully_ clean clothes.

It was hard for her to admit that she still struggled with her loss, even after four years. But that’s why she was roommates with her best friend. Yang figured she would still be a hot mess without her as Pyrrha was the embodiment of patience and support.

Finally dressed in a pair of jeans, yellow tank top and a long sleeve orange flannel, Yang felt presentable enough to be seen by the outside world. Taking one look at herself in the mirror one last time, she noticed that her hair was a mess. Not a complete mess, but instead of taking the time to brush it, because knowing her hair that could take a good twenty minutes, she instead grabbed her yellow beanie with a bee patch and pulled it on.

_‘Way to look like a stereotypical lesbian Xiao-Long.’_ Yang thought to herself before heading out to meet Pyrrha in the living room.

Pyrrha had her car keys already in hand and was waiting for Yang by the front door when she entered the living room. “Jaune just called, he said he’s running late but will meet us there.”

“Let me guess, lover boy slept in again?” Yang replied with a sly smirk as she pulled on a pair of aviator sunglasses.

Pyrrha gave Yang a look before opening the door and headed to her red Ford Explorer. “Need I remind you he’s a pre-med student? After his final tests this week he’ll be starting his internship.”

“I bet he’s going _tibia_ happy when it’s finally all over huh?” Yang hopped into the passenger seat still smiling over her own pun. Pyrrha just shook her head at her and soon they were making their way to the mall for their weekly outing.

\---

“Hey guys, I hope I didn’t keep you two waiting long!” Jaune was all smiles and messy blonde hair as he walked into the cafe. Before Pyrrha could reply with something _undoubtedly_ sappy however, Yang had cut in with extra dramatic flair. Practically throwing herself onto the table with the back of one hand dramatically placed on her forehead.

“ _Finally!_ Pyrrha was so deprived of your presence that she was seriously contemplating stuffing me into one of your sweaters and pretend to be her cuddle toy!” The loud explanation had caused some of the other patrons to shoot odd looks at their table, but Yang paid them no mind. Pyrrha slapped her shoulder harshly, causing Yang to snicker out loud.

Jaune snorted a laugh as he sat down across from Yang. “No she wouldn’t. That’s why I got her Peter.”

Peter being the absolutely _huge_ teddy bear Jaune had gotten Pyrrha for their first valentine's day together. Yang had stuffed the bear into an old Pumpkin Pete’s t-shirt Jaune had left at their place as a joke, but Pyrrha had found it so adorable that the bear became known as Peter from then on.

Yang just smiled however, propping an elbow on the table and looking at Jaune over the rims of her sunglasses. “Oh yeah? Are you saying I give crappy cuddles? Because I’ll have you know I’m like, _the best_ at giving cuddles.” And just for good measure she winked at the other blonde.

In a rare show of playful confidence, in which Yang swears is somehow related to Pyrrha’s influence, Jaune mirrored Yangs posture. “Right, so huh, how exactly do you know that? Because if I remember correctly from the last time we hung out together you were mentioning how you were, and I quote, _‘painfully single’_.” He even made little air quotations, the smart ass.

Not to be outdone, Yang sat back in her chair. “Well, _yeah_ , that may be true now. But I’ve dated far more woman than you have Mr. Ark.” She said crossing her arms in satisfaction.

Jaune pursed his lips and nodded before holding up his hands in surrender. “Okay. Fair point. Well anyway I’mma go order something, did you ladies want anything?” Yang shook her head, the iced vanilla coffee she ordered being enough for her since she did eat all those chips earlier. Pyrrha however stood to join her boyfriend in the short line near the register.

Lilac eyes watched in mild envy as the two intertwined their fingers and made heart eyes at each other as they stood in line. For all her earlier bosting, Yangs past relationships were considered nothing more than minor flings when compared to the love and adoration that those two simply _oozed_ when together.

Reaching for her drink Yang couldn’t stop herself from wondering why she couldn’t be that happy with someone. Then she noticed she just tried using her right hand to grab her drink, her prosthetic hand.

She suddenly became irrationally upset. _‘Because no one wants to date a washed up has-been Yang. You being an amputee cripple is just the icing on the shit cake.’_ She bitterly thought before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, holding it for a count of ten before letting it out.

Taking a sip of her coffee the blonde concentrated on the liquid filling her mouth, dissecting the bitter sweet flavor to help further stamp down her anger. _‘Besides,’_ She thought, _‘it’s no ones fault that Pyrrha had backed into Jaune with her car while he was on his bicycle, and had fallen in love at the first_ I’m sorry _.’_

Feeling her anger still bubbling up to the surface Yang took another deep breath to center herself. _‘This is going to be a loooong day…’_ Yang tiredly thought as she forced a smile as her friends returned to the table with their arms filled with food and drinks.

\---

“OOoooo What about this one? _Forty-Nine Tones of Gray!_ ” Jaune held up the book for both girls to see before reading the summary in hushed exaggerated tones so he didn’t disturb the other occupants within the bookstore.

Towards the end of their weekly outing, before Jaune ultimately had to go back to his studies or Pyrrha having to go to work, the three of them would go through this goofy ritual of sorts before parting ways.

It had started shortly after Yang had moved in with Pyrrha nearly two years ago. She would drag Yang outside the house, sometimes by force, to socialize with the rest of the world instead of allowing the blonde to mope around indoors all day. It was as if she feared Yang would start growing mushrooms from atop her head if she didn’t get sunlight or something. Regardless, after the first few times of being dragged outside, the group had found themselves in a bookstore. And Yang, who was still upset at _everything_ back then and because she was also trying to annoy the newly established couple, had picked up a book at random and started to read the summary out loud as obnoxiously as possible.

It had made everyone laugh, including Yang. Then Jaune, thinking he could do better, picked up a different book and did the same thing.

So it turned into a game of sorts. Seeing who could find the book with the most _cheesiest_ , most _terrible_ sounding titles and had the _weirdest_ looking covers and read the summary as obnoxiously as possible. If the summary ended up being equally terrible or worse then its title or cover art, they got a point. And the one with the most points didn’t have to pay for coffee during their next outing.

When Jaune finished reading Yang made a disgusted face. “Really? That’s what today’s society is calling ‘erotic romance’? I’ve read _fanfiction_ better then that!” Yang continued making a disgusted face as she turned to Pyrrha. “Point?”

The redhead nodded as she also looked slightly perturbed by the books description. “ _Definitely_ worth a point.”

Jaune made an excited noise as he put the book back on the shelf. It was rare for him to be winning so thoroughly, but Yang was chalking it up to karma for her negative thoughts earlier.

Continuing down the next aisle, Pyrrha suddenly made an excited noise as they neared the back wall. She dashed the two steps it took to reach probably the smallest section within the bookstore that was labeled _‘Local Authors’_. For only taking up two shelves the length of her arm, Yang was surprised to see a rather wide range of names on display, but was otherwise uninterested.

The book that Pyrrha had picked up however, had a plain looking cover in comparison to some of the others. Instead of husky men holding swooning woman or gun toting desperadoes looking for redemption this one was a picture, most likely photoshopped, of a latte. But instead of the more usual rosetta's or hearts they were typically decorated with, this one had a bunny face on it.

“Huh, _‘One Coffee Of The Day’_? Sounds pretty straightforward to me.” Jaune commented as he peered over his girlfriends shoulder.

Yang came to stand on the opposite side of Pyrrha. “Yeah? Well how else are you allowed to win if not for us girls picking out the more _mundane_ books?” Yang joked while resting her hands on her hip. Pyrrha however turned and smacked Yangs shoulder with the book.

“Hey, I happen to like this author! When I didn’t see her books over in the fiction section, I was honestly worried. I never would have imagined that she was a local author.” Pyrrha looked genuinely excited as she stared at the book. “Besides, I haven’t read this one yet.”

Yang gave Jaune a raised eyebrow in silent question, but he only shrugged in answer as he was also equally confused. “Soooo, are you gonna read the summary or are you gonna leave Jauney-boy and I hanging?” Yang asked. This time crossing her arms and looking at the other woman expectantly.

Pyrrha looked conflicted for a moment, as if she didn’t want one of her favorite authors to be subjected to the ridicule they’ve done with countless others. But in the end, she cleared her throat before holding up the book and started to read.

_“Meet Velveteen, a college student by morning, a barista by evening, and a faunus to top it all off. Her job may not be all easy-to-make orders and smiles, but it’s enough to keep her day to day life simple._

_That is, until a fashionably dressed human quite literally struts into her cafe with eyes only for her._

_Creating caffeinated concoctions such as hot latte’s made at exactly 120 degrees with precisely 1 percent milk and 2 percent foam she could handle. But will this attractive woman who is all suggestive smiles and flirtatious remarks be more than Velveteen ever bargained for?”_ Pyrrha was smiling as she finished reading the summary.

“Huh, well I can see why you would like this author. Sappy romance is _so you_ Pyrrha.” Yang emphasized with an eye roll. The other woman merely smacked her yet again with the book. “ _Hey!_ That’s like, the tenth time today! Jaune, does she abuse you this much?”

The other blonde however was trying not to giggle openly at her. “Nope, just you Yang.”

Pyrrha pointed the book at Yang. “Just wait until you have a girlfriend Yang. _Then_ we’ll see who’s the sappy romantic.” And with that Pyrrha turned with book in hand and continued browsing the aisles of the bookstore.

Pyrrha ended up buying the book before they left the store. Well, technically Jaune paid for it. He wouldn’t stop making puppy eyes at Pyrrha until she relented and allowed him to buy it for her. Yang of course gave her grief for being a complete and utter sucker for the whims of her boyfriend. This of course resulted in yet another smack to the shoulder.

After that, Jaune made his departure in order to prepare for his classes the next day. So the girls had went home.

Yang had made a show of bursting through the front door, tossing her beanie and sunglasses onto the nearby counter. “Finally, home sweet home! I hope you didn’t have any other plans of dragging me out of the house, cause these pants are coming off!” She even made finger guns at Pyrrha before heading in the direction of her room, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

Turning, the blonde knew from the expression on her friends face that she wasn’t going to like the oncoming conversation because Pyrrha had her ‘Mom’ face on. Yang let out a heavy sigh. “Whatever this is about, can it wait?”

Pyrrha shook her head. “Nope. Because I can tell something has been bothering you. And something _is_ bothering you Yang. Don’t even try to argue with me.” She added when Yang opened her mouth to do just that, but huffed and crossed her arms instead.

After doing nothing but starting at each other for a minute, Yang had held up her hands in defeat. “I don’t know what you want me to tell you Pyrrha.”

“I don’t want you to tell me anything. Just listen.” Pyrrha had leaned against the counter Yang had thrown her beanie on. “You’ve been in a mood ever since we had lunch. And something tells me that it’s because of what you and Jaune were discussing shortly after he met up with us. Am I wrong?”

“Maybe.” Yang said curtly as she stared at her feet, biting at the inside of her cheek. What could she even say to that? _‘Yes you’re right. You and your boyfriend secretly make me jealous because no one wants to date someone like myself ‘cause I’m weak and broken?’_ The blonde could feel her anger start to boil anew. She bit her tongue instead.

Pyrrha shook her head and sighed heavily. “Yang, I know what had happened was beyond devastating for you. It was the same for me when I developed my HCM. But you’ve secluded yourself so much from the rest of the world that I worry about you.” Yang knew her friend was just being honest about the situation, but it did nothing to temper the blondes anger.

_‘Secluded? More like I’m hiding. Hiding from the shame. The pity… The stupid press and their stupid questions. All of it’_ Yang thought angrily.

Several minutes passed without either one speaking, staring at each other as if daring the other to continue. The tension grew to the point where Yang simply wanted to scream, but Pyrrha looked away first with another heavy sigh. “Yang, I think it would benefit you a great deal if you left the house more often. And I mean on your own, instead of me dragging you along when we hang out with friends or whenever we need something for the house.”

“And why should I?” Yang couldn’t stop herself from asking in a quiet tone, staring at her shoes as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. She could feel her clenched fists start to tremble.

Pyrrha stood away from the counter. “Because it’s been _four years _, for one Yang. Second, I’m surprised you even spent this long hiding from the rest of the world, not even trying to get back out there. I mean, back in high school when you came out as gay people tried to alienate you, tried to make you feel wrong for your sexuallity. But you just shrugged it off and continued on with your life like it was any other day. There is nothing stopping you from pushing forward with your life now, so what’s holding you back from moving on?”__

 

 

Yang snapped.

“This is different then coming out of the closet Pyrrha. I lost a part of me. A piece of me is gone and it's _never_ coming back. Having a fancy prosthetic changes nothing, if anything it serves as a constant reminder of what happened to me!” Yang was close to yelling now. Upon releasing that, she took a deep breath and rubbed at her face with her left hand.

“I understand what you’re saying Pyrrha, and I appreciate it. But I, I’m not the same person I once was. Or at least I don’t feel like it. _Shit_ , I-I, I don’t know anymore.” Tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. She hated this, this feeling of weakness, she really did.

Silently Pyrrha approached Yang and hugged her, the blonde instinctively returning the hug with a choked sob. “I just want to be _normal_ again Pyrrha.” She admitted as her tears finally started to run down her cheeks.

“I know Yang. _I know._ But normal is what you make of it. But promise me you’ll at least try to be more sociable. That’s all I ask.” Pyrrha said quietly, feeling her friend nod into her shoulder.

They stood like that for several minutes, hugging until Yang’s tears had dried up. When they parted, Pyrrha watched with a concerned expression as Yang silently walked towards her bedroom.

Emotionally drained from the day, the blonde just crawled into her bed still clothed, and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I’m sorry, were you expecting this story to be chalked full of laughs and smiles? Then it’s probably a bad time to admit that I like hurting my favorite characters with strange phobias, complicated heart conditions and PTS/PTSD… Cause even though I hate it with the passion of a thousands suns, I have an addiction to drama and angst. No-I don’t know how that happened. >.>
> 
> ANYWAY, here’s a hand basket and some bunny ears. Have fun picking out the Easter Eggs I left scattered throughout the chapter!! One of them is a reference to another persons fanfiction here on Ao3, and that’s only hint I’m giving. :)


	3. The Unexpected Encounter

Blake stared at her scroll with a look of determination. She could do this, she just had to press the stupid call button. That’s all she had to do. A minute goes by of her just staring at her scroll before she turned off the device with a defeated sigh, tossing it onto her desk. Blake rubbed at her face with both hands as she made a few more frustrated noises.

_‘I can’t do this…’_ She thought.

Blake had been trying to call Weiss for the last two days to tell her the truth. The truth being that there was no girlfriend, but it always ended the same way. She would stare at her scroll for a ridiculous amount of time before chickening out, and what was worse was Blake didn’t even know _why_ she was so scared. Telling the truth should be a relief after all, she wouldn’t have to lie anymore.

So why couldn’t she do it?

Feeling a panic attack start to bubble from the depths of her chest, Blake clutched at the edge of her desk and forced herself to take several deep breaths. She stayed like that for several minutes, her knuckles white from her death grip and doing her best to just focus on the air expanding in her lungs before expelling it. When she felt calm enough to look up, she saw the email icon on her laptop flash with a new message. Against her better judgement Blake tentatively reached for her mouse and clicked on it. It was an email notification from Weiss.

“It’s fine Blake, for all you know it could be about the manuscript.” Blake tried to rationalize out loud. She clicked on the unread message and after reading through it's short contents, she instantly regretted it.

_‘Good morning Blake,_  
_Attached is a document containing further information on the upcoming events that we discussed the other day. I’ve also taken the liberty to include a detailed itinerary. Please look it over and let me know if there are any conflicts with either you or your girlfriends schedule by this Friday end of day._  
_Thank you,_  
_Weiss Schnee.’_

Blake stood up so abruptly that she nearly knocked over her office chair. Snatching up her scroll she pulled up Weiss’s contact number while pacing within the confines of her office. Once again, Blake found herself with her thumb only a few millimeters away from the call button.

“Just _do it_ Blake, just call her and tell her you can’t do it. Tell her the truth.” Blake spoke out loud, almost as if she was daring herself into finally take action. Seconds turned into minutes as her thumb began shaking with how nervous she was.

“ _Damn it…_ ” Blake exclaimed loudly as she turned off the device. She hung her arm limply at her side as her ears drooped with a sense of defeat. Why couldn’t she do this? It should be so easy. So why was it proving _so damn hard_? Looking around her office, Blake suddenly felt like the walls were closing in on her.

She had to leave.

Her breathing was becoming quick again as she felt like she was backed up into a corner with no way out. Taking deep slow breaths Blake tried to stamp out her frantic thoughts. _‘Calm down Blake, you’re fine, you’ve just been cooped up in your own home for too long. Take a break, get some fresh air, maybe even work on your manuscript to help clear your head.’_ She thought quietly. Taking one look at her laptop however had her anxiety building again, all she could think of was Weiss’s email.

Her golden gaze then caught sight of her book, still sitting under a pile of notes and other paperwork were she tossed it the other day when an idea suddenly came to her.

Walking into her bedroom Blake wasted no time in swapping out her sweats for a pair of dark jeans and found her dark purple cardigan and threw it over a loose fitting white t-shirt. Depositing her worn clothes into the dirty hamper she then grabbed a few necessary items to leave the house with: A notebook, her reading glasses, and a small hand purse that contained an array of pens, her ID and some cash. Blake then made a small detour to her bathroom where she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and applied a minimum amount of makeup. Nodding at her reflection, Blake finally grabbed her keys and made her way to her car.

Backing out of her garage Blake set her destination for a strip mall that was a good thirty minute drive to the other side of town. It has been a long time since she’d last left her house to just get some fresh air, but the prospect of revisiting the tiny cafe that originally inspired her previous book brought a certain amount of comfort to her.

Or at least she hoped it would.

Turning on her radio to a classical music station, she drove in silence as she felt her anxiety start to melt away with each passing mile.

\-----

_“We have a 23 year old white human female with a shattered ulna and radius to the right forearm. Including multiple abrasions to her face and both shins.” One of the paramedics rattled off over the radio while the other one was flashing a penlight in Yang's eyes, no doubt checking for a concussion as the ambulance jostled every now and then as it made its way towards the hospital._

_Yang tried to bat away the obnoxious penlight, but her arms were restrained as was the rest of her. “Hey,_ HEY! _Let me go! Aren't you_ listening _to me? I said let me go!” No matter how loud she screamed the two paramedics acted as if they couldn’t hear her. She tried to struggle against her restraints, but she was strapped tight to the gurney._

_“No no no_ NO! _You have to let me go! Let me_ GO! _” Yang was thrashing harder against the restraints, tears started to streak down her cheeks as her continued pleas went unheard._

_Suddenly, there was a shout from the driver as the ambulance turned sharply. The sound of screeching tires and blaring horns were ear shattering when suddenly the vehicle lurched sideways in an unnatural way. The motion causing the two paramedics to slam into one side of the ambulance in a shower of equipment as the vehicle skidded and rolled before finally flipping upside down._

**_THUMP_ **

Yang was startled awake as she fell out of bed in a heap of blankets. Her chest was heaving as she tried to recover from the nightmare.

“ _Fuuuuuuckkkk_ ” Yang groaned as she noticed that she somehow cocooned herself in her blankets. _‘Well that explains why I couldn’t move.’_ She thought as she began the struggle of untangling herself, a task made more difficult by the fact she never wore her prosthetic to bed.

Yang hasn’t had _that_ nightmare in months. Ever since her talk with Pyrrha a few days ago however, they’ve been a nightly occurrence. But that _particular_ one… Yang shuddered as she finally freed herself from her blankets and stood up. Taking a look at herself in her closet mirror she noticed that her eyes were bloodshot and accented with dark circles from lack of sleep.

She rubbed at her face and glanced at her alarm clock, frowning at the bright numbers displaying the time. “It’s not even 6am yet? _Uugh_ , no one should ever be allowed to be functional at this hour.” Taking one look at the disheveled state of her bed and the memory of her nightmare still lingering in the back of her mind, Yang decided against going back to sleep.

She doubted she could even if she wanted to, as Yang could feel that her skin and clothes were both damp with sweat.

“Right, shower it is then.” She said as she gathered a set of clean clothing, throwing them over her shoulder before heading to her bathroom. Thankfully she shared a two bedroom, two bath town home with Pyrrha, so she wasn’t worried about hogging the bathroom. After spending what was probably longer than necessary under the soothing hot shower, she emerged feeling much more human.

Dressed in fresh clothes and a towel wrapped around her shoulders, Yang ventured towards the kitchen where she caught sight of Pyrrha, dressed for work and already halfway out the door. “Sorry, I thought you’d still be asleep. I left a note on the fridge for you but I’m running late so I’ll see you later!” Was all the redhead said as she left just as quickly.

“Well _‘bye’_ to you too!” Yang shouted at the door, doubtful her friend had heard her before turning to find said note. It didn’t take long as it was a bright yellow sticky note attached to the refrigerators door handle. Pyrrha’s strange but effective way of guaranteeing that the blonde would see it.

In Pyrrha’s neat handwriting, the note read:

_Visiting Jaune after work. Won’t be home until late._  
_Ps: Out of groceries, it’s your turn to go shopping. -PN_

With a groan, Yang opened the fridge to confirm that there was in fact no food to be had other then some shredded cheese, half a pitcher of juice and a _butt ton_ of condiments. Yang closed the fridge with a sigh. She hated shopping on her own, mostly because she always had a tendency to pick up a bunch of frozen dinners, forgetting that Pyrrha couldn't have them because of her strict sodium diet.

Chewing her bottom lip in indecision, Yang stood there for a few minutes looking around the kitchen before making up her mind, and retreated back to her room to finish getting dressed.

\-----

About an hour later Yang found herself at the local strip mall that’s about a 20 minute bus ride from home. She’d been here several times before with Pyrrha and Jaune while on their weekend outings. The place also had a huge bookstore that, needless to say, has befallen victim to their game many many times in the past. But the bookstore wasn’t Yang's destination.

There was a tiny Cafe at one end of the strip mall that served like, _the best_ cherry strudels. Yang figured it was a good place to get breakfast before she went on her shopping expedition, as the supermarket was only just a short five minute walk from here. As she stepped into the cafe's venue Yang inhaled deeply, smiling as she took in the familiar scent of coffee grinds and the sweet smell of pastries.

The Cafe, known as the Grimm Bean, was literally a hole in the wall. It’s tiny space being able to sit _maybe_ twenty to thirty people maximum including staff within its venue. But her favorite part of the cafe was that every inch of wall space was taken up with coffee posters and memes saying things like, _“Wanna hear a joke? Decaf”_ and _“Not to get technical but, according to chemistry, coffee IS a solution”_ Or her personal favorite, _“It’s not procrastinating if you’re drinking coffee, it’s procaffeinating!”_ But for once Yangs attention wasn't drawn to the array of knickknacks and coffee posters.

Her gaze was immediately drawn to a woman sitting in a booth farthest from the entrance. She had long black hair set in a loose ponytail and a pair of cat ears that were currently folded back against her hair. Her back was facing Yang so she couldn’t see her face, but she _could_ see that the woman was clearly uncomfortable as a man was practically bent over her table trying to talk to her. He was talking in hushed tones, so Yang couldn't quite hear what was being said from where she was, but it was clear that the longer the guy talked, the more uncomfortable the faunus became. Yang took all of 6 seconds to make up her mind before waving at the lone barista and quickly and quietly placed her order. What she was about to do was most likely a bad idea, but wasn’t the conversation she had with Pyrrha about her trying to be more sociable?

_'Here's hoping I don't make an ass of myself.’_ Yang thought, taking a deep breath to steel herself before taking several long strides towards the booth.

“So are you ever going to let us kno-” Yang interrupted the stranger by tapping him on the shoulder. He jerked in Yang's direction, clearly startled but she took that moment to lift her sunglasses to make eye contact with him.

“Hey buddy you’re blocking the row, mind moving?” She tried to sound bored before turning to face the dark haired woman and said in a more cheerfully tone, “Hey babe, sorry I’m late.” Yang had to shoulder her way past the guy to sit across from the other woman and gave her a wink.

The first thing Yang took note of was the woman had remarkable golden eyes, which currently were staring back at Yang in surprise. Or at least Yang assumed it was surprise, her cat ears went from being flat to perked forward the moment she sat down across from her. _‘They’re so expressive’_ Yang couldn't help but stare, transfixed by the faunus’s ears for a moment before mentally shaking herself.

She didn't notice that the guy was now staring at her though. “You- you’re…” He gaped.

Yang blinked at him, almost forgetting that he still was there. _'Well, well... Looks like he knows who I am. Might as well make my old reputation good for something.’_ She smiled knowingly. “Yup, that's me.” Yang replied, making the ‘p’ pop. She raised an eyebrow however in question as the man _still_ just stood there looking like an unflattering fish.

Yang couldn’t help but frown at him. “Soooooo, do you mind buddy? You’re kinda interrupting us here.” letting her annoyance be heard in her tone. As if on cue, the barista showed up then. Having to also shoulder their way around the guy before being able to set down Yang's order of two drinks and a single strudel pastry on the table.

The man took one last look at the two woman before suddenly smiling widely and left the cafe. His reaction was… _Not_ what Yang was expecting, that’s for sure. She was more accustomed to guys frowning or in the very least looking flustered at being upstaged by a woman. Was it because she was in a cafe and not a bar? Well whatever, she succeeded in getting rid of him, finally. But now Yang found herself sitting across from a rather attractive woman who was still staring at her with wide golden eyes.

“Hi er, sorry about that, I couldn’t help but notice that that guy was bothering you. The name’s Yang by the way.” She reached across the small table and offered her left hand to the other woman.

The woman looked at her hand for a few seconds before tentatively returning the gesture. “Blake.” Her hand felt smooth and soft as she gently shook hands with Yang before returning it back to her side. Yang tried not to gulp as Blake’s voice was just as attractive as the rest of her.

_‘Reign it in Xiao-Long, just a friendly conversation happening here. You’re socializing remember? Not picking up chicks, otherwise you're no better then the dude you just chased off…’_ Putting on a smile Yang instead indicated towards the drinks between them. “Well Blake, I hope you’re thirsty, cause I kinda bought two drinks to help get rid of Mr. _No-Personal-Space_. So do you like coffee, or do you prefer tea?”

For a moment Blake just sat there quietly before burying her face in her hands. At first Yang thought she royally screwed up somehow, but then she heard the muffled laughter coming from the faunus. When she lifted her head, Blake was smiling and Yang now knew how Jaune felt when he met Pyrrha. _‘Oh Oum, if Pyrrha finds out I’m this much of a gay disaster she’ll never let me live it down...’_

After regaining her composure, Blake had picked up the cup containing tea and looked at Yang over the rim as she took a sip. “You’re just like a knight.” Her smile was small but still made Yang fight off a blush.

Yang of course waved off the comment. “Who me? Nah… It doesn’t take being a knight to realize when someone needs help.”

Blake looked thoughtful for a moment, her head slightly tilted to the side. After a moment she took another sip of her tea and looked at Yang. “So then Yang, do you always come to the rescue of random strangers and then buy them drinks?”

“Only for the cute ones.” Yang said with a wink before she could stop herself, instantly panicking. “Um, _I mean_ … Yeah sorry about that.” Now it was Yangs turn to bury her face in her hands as she groaned in frustration at her lack of brain to mouth filter. _‘Smooth one Yang. What happened to reigning it in? Oh right, she smiled, uuuggghhh I really am hopeless…’_ She mentally berated herself.

Thankfully Blake didn’t seem phased by the comment. “It’s no problem. However if I may ask, he seemed to recognize you, did you know him?” Blake asked slowly. Yang sat back in her chair a bit surprised if she was being honest, then again she was surprised that he had even recognized her. It had been a long time since Yang had been stopped by strangers and fans alike for autographs or pictures, the downside to hiding from the rest of the world it would seem.

“ _Pfft_ , no. Never met him before. But, uh, I’m a former Kickboxer. So he may have seen a few of my matches or whatever.” Yang took sip of the unclaimed coffee. “I mean, I know the sport isn’t for everyone, given how people are more interested in MMA these days. But have you ever heard of the name _‘Fire Dragon’_ Xiao-Long?” Yang tried her best to sound casual about it as she didn't want to sound like she was boasting. But Blake shook her head, shocking Yang as she felt her eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Really?” She joked as she took another sip of her coffee to hide her embarrassment.

“Actually,” Blake started slowly, “I’ve never really been a fan of sports. Or television for that matter.” She said with a delicate shrug.

Yang couldn’t help but look at her in slight confusion. “Say _what_ now? Then how do you keep up with the news and stuff then?”

“Newspapers.” Blake stated simply. “I like reading.” she added with another shrug.

It was Yang's turn to sit and stare at Blake for a moment. Taking in Blake's appearance, Yang could see the faunus being at home in a library or on a couch with her nose in a book. “Huh, you know, you totally look like the type who finds that enjoyable.”

Blake tilted her head sideways again with small a smile as one of her ears flickered. Yang seriously thought it was an adorable look on the faunus but kept the thought firmly to herself. “Do you always assume things of people you just met?” Blake said in an amused tone.

Yang couldn’t help but give a short laugh as she relaxed back into her chair. “What? Am I wrong?”

Blake didn’t answer as she shook her head, her smile widening. They sat in comfortable silence for a moment before Blakes ears suddenly perked upright. “Speaking of reading, I should probably get back to work.” Blake took a moment to mostly finish her tea before standing.

“Oh? And where’s work? T-that is if you don’t mind me asking.” Yang hastily asked as she stood up as well.

Blakes ears perked forward at the question, her golden gaze looking at Yang like she was trying to determine something before digging in her small purse and pulled out a pen. “I work from home actually. You could say I needed some fresh air and wound up here.” Blake’s smile returned as she picked up one of the brown napkins and scribbled something on it before sliding it next to Yang’s coffee. “But given the circumstances, I’m glad I got the chance to meet you Yang. Until next time.” She gave Yang one last bright smile and a small wave before walking out of the cafe. Leaving the blonde with a goofy smile on her face as she waved back at Blake.

Yang paused before suddenly realizing what Blake had said.

_‘Wait…_ NEXT _time?’_

Yang nearly dove onto the table, snatching up the napkin Blake had written on so quickly that she nearly knocked over the remains of her coffee in the process. The barista gave her a strange look that went unnoticed as the blonde was nearly combusting with excitement. On the napkin in neat lettering was a phone number with Blake's name and a smiley face.

Pulling out her scroll Yang took a picture of the napkin as her smile widened. “Oh man, I can’t wait to tell Pyrrha about this!” She exclaimed in excitement, picking up her untouched pastry and taking large bites out of it as she left the cafe. She finally made her way to the store with a bounce to her step and smiling the entire time. Upon entering the store, Yang honestly couldn’t remember the last time she was this happy. But the fact that Blake had left her number had Yang excited at the prospect of speaking with the woman again. She was kinda cute after all.

Okay, Blake was totally her type who was she even kidding…

Yang grabbed a cart and descended into the store, humming to herself the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello from my writing dungeon! I’ll have you know I banged my head against a wall because it said ‘PLOT’ on it. That’s how you learn to do that right? Or at least I’m fairly certain that’s how you learn to write plot…
> 
> Head concussions aside, they met! WOOT!!! What will happen next!?  
> *looks at scribbled brainstorm notes*  
> No seriously what happens next? I can’t tell cause my notes are covered in a ketchup stains... Or is that blood? Whatever I’ll wing it… Until next time!!


	4. The Text Messages Bonus Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Decided to kill two birds with one stone: More Blake pov AND dorky/silly interactions between our lovely budding friendship bees.... So please enjoy this Bonus Chapter!

Blake was working in her living room for a change.

Upon returning home from the cafe she had grabbed every paper, note, and brainstorm she had for her current manuscript and was currently in the process of rewriting it. Papers along with several empty mugs of tea were scattered about her coffee table in a jumbled organized mess. She had spent the last several hours in a flurry of inspiration, going over her previous work and circling things she liked or furiously scribbling out things that were to be changed and or deemed no longer necessary.

Blake was currently curled up on her couch reviewing some notes she just wrote with her feet tucked underneath her. Her ear flicked to the side when she heard her scroll vibrate on the table, buried under some papers with an incoming text notification. She was going to ignore it when it vibrated again causing one of her cat ears to twitch in annoyance.

She reached forward, digging under the pile of papers to pick up the offending device. Adjusting her glasses, Blake saw that she had two messages from an unknown number and frowned. _‘Who’s texting me this late at night?’_ She thought in mild annoyance as she unlocked the device to read the messages.

_Unknown 10:57 pm > Oh Hai! :)_  
_Unknown 10:57 pm > This is blake ryt?_

Blake blinked several times, re-reading the texts. _‘That’s right, I gave the blonde from the cafe my number.’_ She had given her number to Yang for several reasons. One, during their brief interaction together the blonde had seemed sincere and honest, aside from the accidental flirtations. Which if Blake was being honest, it was a bit flattering. Second, because Yang was responsible for Blake’s current productive state.

To Unknown 10:59 pm> Only if this is Yang.

She was about to set her scroll back down to continue working, but the device went off with several more notifications.

_Unknown 11:00 pm > Purrhaps ;3_  
_Unknown 11:00 pm > Tht is unless u no any other tall/hot/blondes_

Blake shook her head. _‘Was that supposed to be a pun?’_ Taking a moment to save Yang's number into her contacts. Blake mused over how she should respond before smiling as she thought of one of her college friends, and typed out her reply.

To Yang 11:05 pm> I do actually.

_Yang 11:06 pm > D: WAT!?_  
_Yang 11:06 pm > Wow, way 2 hurt a grls feelings_  
_Yang 11:07 pm > Q.Q_

To Yang 11:09 pm> I’m sorry?

Blake didn’t know if Yang was being serious or not. Then again, reading tones in text messages had always been difficult for her. Thankfully Yang's next several text messages had put her at ease.

_Yang 11:09 pm > Tis joke_  
_Yang 11:09 pm > You’ll get use 2 my humar_  
_Yang 11:10 pm > -_^<3_

To Yang 11:12 pm> And the way you text, I’m sure.

Blake rolled her eyes. _‘Honestly she’s lucky that Sun texted the same way in college. Otherwise I wouldn’t have a clue of what she’s saying.’_ Blake thought in amusement. She made a mental note to contact the monkey faunus to see how he and his husband were doing. She hadn’t spoken to him in several months after all. Blake leaned back against her couch as she waited for Yang's reply, her work temporarily forgotten.

_Yang 11:13 pm > U know it!!!_  
_Yang 11:13 pm > BTW wut r u doing rn?_

That got Blake to pause, fingers hovering over her scroll in reply. She didn’t know how much she should be telling Yang because after all, they were virtually strangers. On that same note, how else are people supposed to make new friends? Blake thought over her answer for a moment before she decided on being honest, if not a tad bit vague.

To Yang 11:18 pm> Writing.

_Yang 11:19 pm > :o_  
_Yang 11:19 pm > So mysterious!_  
_Yang 11:20 pm > Iz it fanfiction?_  
_Yang 11:20 pm > U look lyk teh type 2 write fanfiction -_^_

Blake couldn’t help the amused huff she made when she read the message. _‘Where does she come up with this stuff?’_ Blake couldn’t decide if she should be flattered, amused or just insulted by that comment. She decided that she was amused. After all, she was smiling at the absurdity of her writing fanfiction of all things. Read it? Yes, she has done that many times and found it enjoyable on occasion. Sometimes even inspiring. But _writing_ it? She shook her head.

To Yang 11:22 pm> The way you assume such random things about me is strange.

_Yang 11:23 pm > Am I ryt?_

To Yang 11:24 pm> No, I can assure you Yang, I am not writing fanfiction.

_Yang 11:25 pm > OOOoooooo_  
_Yang 11:25 pm > U totes is! XD_  
_Yang 11:26 pm > Don worry blakey, yer secret safe wit me_  
_Yang 11:26 pm > ;) <3_

Blake couldn’t help but laugh honestly. _‘She is something else, that’s for sure.’_ Looking at the time on her scroll Blake realized that despite her enjoying the conversation, she needed to get at least some rest.

To Yang 11:27 pm> It’s late Yang, you should probably go to bed. :)

_Yang 11:28 pm > fine_  
_Yang 11:28 pm > but ONLY cause u say so_  
_Yang 11:29 pm > :) :) :)_

To Yang 11:30 pm> Goodnight Yang.

_Yang 11:31 pm > nyt blakey! _

Blake shook her head, still smiling over the conversation before picking up the mess she had made of her coffee table. Stacking her notes neatly and depositing the tea mugs into the kitchen sink before making her way to bed.

\-----

Yang made a particularly loud girlish noise as she sent her last text, rolling on her bed and clutching her pillow to her face to muffle the noise.

When she got home from the grocery store, Yang had to visibly restrain herself from texting Blake right away. She had to talk to someone about her encounter! That someone mainly being Pyrrha, but she was still hanging out with Jaune.

So she worked out for a bit before switching to watch television instead for a several hours. When that ceased to distract her, Yang went back to working out her nervous tension before she just couldn’t take it anymore. She felt giddy, like stupidly giddy even. Her face ached with how much she was smiling and she didn’t care.

Getting up from her bed, Yang did a little happy dance before humming her way into the kitchen to make herself a late night dinner before she went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The way Yang texts personally makes my eyes bleed… But I cannot, for the life of me imagine her texting any other way. So I guess I can suffer with it? Oh who am I kidding? Do you guys think if I bribe Blake with tuna she would be willing to beat Yang over the head with her own scroll for me? 
> 
> I’ll see you all on Sunday with the next chapter! -_^
> 
> P.S- Be sure to bring your hard hats cause stuff is gonna happen!! :D


	5. The Rumor

Blake sat back in her chair, adjusting her glasses as she reviewed her work thus far. She made a few adjustments before nodding in satisfaction, resuming her typing in a flurry of ticks across her keyboard. After her encounter with Yang the day before, Blake had practically spent the better part of her evening rewriting her entire character arc for the knight protagonist. It unfortunately had also caused her to rewrite a majority of what she had previously for the manuscript, but she felt more satisfied with this newer version.

As the sounds of soft clicking filled her office, Blake couldn’t help but smile to herself. Who would have thought that her anxiety would lead her into meeting someone that gave her this much inspiration?

Blake still hadn’t made any progress when it came to telling Weiss the truth though. She tried calling her again earlier that morning but it ended the same way as it did yesterday. Rationally Blake knew she would need to figure out how to tell Weiss sooner rather than later, but she still had a few more days to figure that out. No she wasn’t procrastinating, she was just busying herself with work in order to gain enough focus to potentially come up with a solution.

Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself.

Blake paused in her typing long enough to take a sip from her tea and glanced at her scroll. Setting her current predicament aside, she was glad that she had given the blonde her number. Something the faunus had never done before. But Yangs grand entrance at the cafe had inspired her so much, and just from one chance encounter. Blake even found the late night text messages oddly inspiring as if Yang had become her new personal muse.

_‘She must still be asleep.’_ Blake thought amusedly as she resumed her typing. After their late night conversation, Blake felt it appropriate to send Yang a good morning text, but that was over an hour ago. Granted it was only barely past ten and Blake had been up since six, but that was normal for her.

An hour or so went by of Blake silently typing before she decided that she needed more tea. A decision solidified by her mug being empty of the delicious liquid.

Once in the kitchen, Blake was about to set the kettle on the stove when she heard the Imperial March start sounding from her office where she had left her scroll. With a sudden sense of deja vu, she hurriedly walked back to her office to answer it before she missed the call.

“Hello Wei-”

_“Is your girlfriend back in town? Actually nevermind, I_ know _she’s back in town.”_ Weiss cut her off. She sounded, well, not quite angry... Annoyed maybe? Blake couldn’t quite tell without seeing her body language. But more importantly, what was she talking about?

“Um…” Was all that the dark haired woman could muster, caught completely off guard by the comment.

_“You’re dating the Yang Xiao-Long!?”_ Weiss exclaimed loud enough to cause Blake to pull her scroll away from her human ear as her faunus ears folded flat against her scalp.

“E-excuse me?” Blake was so confused. For starters, how does Weiss know Yang? Also, _dating_!? They just met yesterday, how can anyone assume that they were dating?

Weiss however, not being able to hear Blake's inner thoughts, took a deep breath over the phone. _“You haven’t seen this morning's paper have you?”_

“Um no, I’ve been working all morning, why is that important?” She almost wanted to ask what Yang had to do with the morning newspaper, but that had to wait as Weiss continued in a much more subdued tone.

_“Blake, I know we’ve discussed before that you are a private person, but I would have liked at least some warning as to-”_ Weiss halted her sentence as Blake could hear someone knock on her publishers office door. There was a moment of hushed conversation, as Weiss must have covered her scrolls receiver. Judging by what she could hear of Weiss’s tone, she was not happy with the topic being discussed.

_“Sorry about that Blake, but it would appear I have a meeting to attend. I’ll have to call you back in a bit.”_ She sounded more than a little annoyed as she ended the call, leaving Blake staring at her scroll in confusion.

“Well, at least she isn’t on my doorstep this time.” Blake thought out loud as she headed back to the kitchen to finish making her tea. Whatever Weiss wanted her to read in the newspaper surely could wait the extra few minutes. Hopefully she could use that time to also shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

\---

“Oh my goodness Pyrrha, she was so cute you have _no idea_!” Yang said excitedly from her side of the couch, hugging the throw pillow even tighter to her chest.

Pyrrha was smiling as she shook her head at the blonde. “Oh, I have some idea. You’ve only been gushing over her for the last _hour_ now.” Whelp, Yang couldn’t deny that.

Yang had practically pounced on her friend the moment she came home. Pyrrha’s _‘visiting Jaune after work’_ , had actually turned out to be _‘canoodling overnight with lover boy’_. Any other day Yang would have said something, or multiple somethings in order to tease her friend mercilessly, but decided to let it slide for the moment. She had more pressing matters to talk to her about. Like a certain gorgeous dark haired cat faunus for instance.

“I mean, yeah but her eyes! They were-”

“Like _‘molten gold’_ , yes Yang, you’ve mentioned that.”

“And her ears-”

“Were so _‘adorably expressive that you wanted to touch them’._ ”

“And-”

“ _And_ she gave you her number in which you had stayed up until nearly midnight texting each other. _And_ she then sent you a good morning text, but you couldn’t reply because your scroll died. _Yes Yang_ , you’ve told me all of this. _Multiple times_ even.” Pyrrha was feigning exasperation so Yang felt obligated to toss the throw pillow at her head.

“ _Fine_ , I get it but it’s your turn to suffer okay! You were way worse when you met Jaune. _‘Oh Yang, his eyes were soooo blue’_.” Yang teased in the best mocking tone she could muster before having to immediately duck as Pyrrha returned fire with the same throw pillow.

“That’s not even remotely true! You are the worst Xiao-Long!” She may have sounded annoyed but she was smiling because Pyrrha knew her friend was right.

Yang stuck out her tongue. “It totes is and you know it. Don’t hate me cause I’m right Nikos.”

Pyrrha shook her head and laughed. “And I remember saying just the other day that you would be just as bad once you found someone. And here you are acting like a hopeless lesbian, thus proving me _right_.”

Yang brought her hand to her chest in a mock show of offense. “And here I thought we were friends!”

“Don’t hate me because I’m right.” Pyrrha quoted back before the two shared a laugh. “But seriously Yang, I know you two are nothing more than acquaintances at this point, but I’m happy you met someone. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you smile this much.”

“Right?” Yang agreed, feeling her smile widen before she paused in a moment of quite thought. “Would I sound _too_ desperate if I said I wanted to see her again?” Not just because Blake was cute, shy, and _totally_ her type but... Okay, maybe those were Yang's only reasons.

Pyrrha pretended to ponder the question for a moment. “Not to burst your bubble or anything Yang, but you should probably focus on just being friends first.”

Yang held her hands palm up with an added questioning look. “Uh _duh_ , what makes you think I wanted to go for something more?” But Pyrrha gave her a knowing look.

The red head held up her hand and started to tick off with her fingers. “One, because I know you. You just spent nearly an hour _gushing_ about your encounter with her. Two, the last time you met someone and tried to jump into a relationship it didn’t end well. Three-”

“Okay, okay I get it, _jeez_ you sure know how to smother a girls hopes and dreams.” Yang cut her off with an exaggerated eye roll.

Pyrrha made a motion as if to smack Yang’s shoulder but she was too far away. So she smacked the couch cushion instead. “Oh stop being so dramatic, if I’m not the one looking out for you who will? Seriously though Yang, have you taken into consideration that Blake may not even be gay?”

Yang scoffed. “If she’s not, it would be like, the _biggest disappointment_ since NASA declared Pluto not a planet.” Yang didn’t care if she was exaggerating. Pyrrha looked at her with a raised eyebrow but she continued. “However mark my words Pyrrha, if she does fly with the rainbow pride unicorn I will be all over that like white on rice.”

Pyrrha snorted a laugh at the absurdity of Yangs statement. “Wow, she must have really left an impression for you to make such a bold declaration.”

Yang was about to reply when suddenly her obnoxious ringtone sounded from her bedroom where she had left her scroll to charge. The two friends shared a questioning look before Yang practically vaulted over the back of the couch and scrambled to her bedroom in record time to see ‘Hot Girl Blake’ show on her caller ID.

“Holy mother of- PYRRHA!! SHE’S CALLING! _WHAT DO_!?” Yang couldn’t help but shout out in surprise.

“Answer it!” She heard Pyrrha shout back as the blonde nearly ripped her scroll from its charging port and hit the answer button with perhaps too much force.

“ _Yel-low_?” Yang greeted cheerfully as she sat on the edge of her bed. From the corner of her eye she saw Pyrrha lurk in her doorway in a rare show of curiosity. Yangs attention however was more focused on the shy and unsure sounding voice on the other side of her scroll.

_“Oh, um, H-hey Yang. I, um, I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time. Because if that’s the case I could call back or, um, y-you know what, I’msorryI’lljust-”_

“Woah, slow down there Blakey.” Yang interrupted the other woman's flurry of words. “You actually have great timing! I was just about to text you cause my scroll was dead earlier. Sorry about that by the way.” She tried to continue sounding cheerful, but when Blake didn’t immediately respond she added “Soooo what’s up Blakey? Were your ears burning or did you just miss me?”

That got a response out of the quiet girl as she gave an almost laugh. _“Well, actually I was calling to ask you a question.”_

“Did you want me to proof read your fanfiction?” Yang asked without missing a beat. From the corner of her eye she saw Pyrrha give her a strange look but she just waved her off. She would explain her newly acquired inside joke some other time. The comment however had the desired effect on Blake as she started to sputter.

“What? _No that’s-_ No _, Yang for the last time I don’t-_ Ugh!” Yang tried not to openly chuckle at the other woman as she was proving way to easy to tease.

_“Have you read today’s paper?”_ Blake said after a moment in a serious tone.

Yang made a point to make eye contact with Pyrrha before she replied. “Um no, I haven’t read the newspaper today. Why? Are you in it?” Pyrrha, taking the hint, silently nodded as she disappeared from Yangs doorway.

_“You remember that guy from yesterday?”_

“Uh yeah, Mr. _No-Personal-Space_ was kinda hard to forget, why? Is he bothering you again? Cause I’ll totally kick his ass if you want.”

She expected an amused sound of some sort, or confirmation on having to give someone an ass kicking. But what Yang got instead was Blake sounding even more disturbed. _“No it’s nothing like that. It, um... It turns out he was a journalist.”_

At that moment, Yang had heard rather than saw Pyrrha return via body slamming into her door frame with the newspaper crumpled in one hand. “Ooookay…” Was all that Yang could manage as she gave her friend both a questioning and concerned look.

_“Yeah, and um... Well the situation is, well it’s complicated and I would much rather discuss this in person before things get out of hand. I-if that’s alright with you of course.”_

As Blake was speaking, Pyrrha was repeatedly pointing at the newspaper trying to get Yangs attention but she was only succeeding in distracting the former fighter. “Uh sure, yeah that sounds like a good idea, do you want to meet at my place?”

Pyrrha started to shake her head ‘no’ repeatedly, forcing Yang to make a hasty correction before Blake was able to reply. “I- _I mean_ not my place. My place is infested… With roommates! Yeah I don’t know if this is something you would want an audience for.” Pyrrha gave her a dirty look but Yang just returned the look as her friend wasn’t exactly helping the situation.

_“No! I mean, no I don’t want an audience, the situation is already awkward enough as it it.”_ Blake almost sounded relieved.

“Yup.” Yang agreed automatically. “So yeah just shoot me a text with the when and where you wanna meet and I’ll be there okay?”

_“Okay. Yeah, the sooner the better honestly, I’ll see you soon Yang.”_

“See you soon Blake!”

The moment she hung up, Yang stood from her bed and fixed Pyrrha with a questioning look. “Okay Miss Antsy-Pants, what was all that about?”

Pyrrha just shoved the newspaper into her hands in lieu of an answer. “Look on page 3.” Confused, Yang flipped to the appropriate page and suddenly felt her eyes go impossibly wide.

There was a picture of her and Blake from the cafe, taken when both of them were smiling at each other and looking very, _couple-ly_. Hesitantly, Yang started to read the article out loud.

_“Former kickboxing and middleweight champion, Yang ‘Fire-Dragon’ Xiao-Long is revealed as the girlfriend to Blake Belladonna, a local author. Ever since her loss against Adam Taurus back in August of 2014, Xiao-Long has practically been a ghost. Her once populated social media sites having been deleted and has rarely made any public appearances since then. But it would seem that she had traded in her once exotic nightlife for something a bit more domestic._

_Early Monday morning, Xiao-Long was seen out on a date with Blake Belladonna, a famed local author whose books are popular amongst both the LGBT and Faunus communities. To Belladonna’s many readers, it is common knowledge that she has been in a long term relationship for the last several years, however not even her most devoted fans could say with whom. But now that the two have been seen publicly together, the secrecy suddenly makes sense._

_With Belladonna giving hints about several upcoming social events in the the following months, it is very likely we will be hearing more about how she tamed the legendary ‘Fire-Dragon’, as well as discussing her own ever growing popularity.”_

The article was continued on a different page, but Yang couldn’t be bothered wanting to read more. She crumpled the newspaper into a ball and carelessly tossed it aside.

“Man, that sounded like something you’d read in a tabloid.” Yang ran a hand through her hair, chewing at her lower lip. Her scroll had chimed with an incoming text while she had read the article, but continued to ignore it for now. She took a moment to gather her thoughts as she now had a better understanding of why Blake sounded the way she did on the phone.

“Yang, there’s more.” Yang wanted to groan out loud at Pyrrha’s concerned voice, of course there was more.

Pyrrha handed her the book she bought, well, technically Jaune had bought for her. “I didn’t notice it before because you only knew her first name, but this is her right?” Pyrrha said as she pointed to a rather cute black and white picture of Blake sitting on a bench at the back of the book.

Yang nodded slowly, reading the small author's bio in silence before her eyes went wide. “Shit Pyrrha, what do you think her actual girlfriend is gonna think about all this?”

Pyrrha gave a short laugh, before composing herself. “Well according to the paper she’s some hot headed former kickboxer.” She said with a shrug.

“ _Ha ha_ , very funny Pyrrha. Seriously though, you’re not a lesbian, you don’t know just how territorial we can get.” Yang said after giving her friend the most exaggerated eye roll she could muster.

Her friend crossed her arms. “Yes I do. Your girlfriend second semester, senior year.” Pyrrha dead panned.

Yang cringed internally before rubbing her face with both hands. “Ouch, okay fair point. So I’m gonna get dressed and then head to wherever Blake wants to meet up. Do you mind if I borrow your car for awhile?”

“Only if you promise to take my book with you.” Pyrrha said as she turned to leave Yangs room. Yang however gave her a questioning look.

“Wait, why the book?”

Pyrrha smiled over her shoulder. “So she can sign it, duh.”

Yang gave her friend a knowing nod. “Right, fan girl. I forgot. Fine, your car, your rules.”

Pyrrha just waved her off and finally disappeared around the corner leaving Yang to sigh heavily. _‘Of course this is what I get for saying I’d be on her like white on rice. Thanks Karma… I only hope her girlfriend isn’t the type to hold a grudge.’_ She thought as she trudged over to her closet to find something suitable to wear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I DID tell you all to bring your hard hats… So if you got hit in the head with a plot rock it’s not my fault. _*Whistles innocently as she discreetly nudges box filled with rocks out of sight*_
> 
> Anyway, I caused a good giggle with my Beta reader TuxedoBird, as I told them that the article about Yang and Blake was titled _“How to tame your Fire-Dragon.”_ I live for stupid puns almost as badly as Yang does okay? I regret nothing!


	6. The Truth In A Single Sentence

Blake paced nervously. Walking from one end of her living room to her kitchen bar and back again. She was hugging her midsection tightly in order to keep herself from biting at her nails in nervous tension.

Shortly after her call with Yang had ended, Blake sent her a text with her address and directions mentioning that she can come over at her earliest convenience. She had received Yangs text saying she was on her way nearly thirty minutes ago. With nothing left to do but wait, the tension was almost more than the faunus could bare.

_‘It’ll be fine Blake, you’ll just explain the situation, apologize profusely and pretend that this_ never happened _. But then what do I tell Weiss? Sorry the press got it wrong? That they misinterpreted a moment between friends? Are we even considered friends yet? But I still haven’t told Weiss the truth… One thing at a time Belladonna. Talk to Yang first,_ then _handle Weiss later.’_ Blake took a deep breath as she thought to herself and continued her nervous pacing.

Her ears flickered as she caught the sound of an unfamiliar car pulling into her driveway. Going to her living room window she spotted a red Ford pull up with Yang appearing a moment later as she exited from the drivers side.

Blake managed to dash to her front door, opening it in time to see a surprised looking Yang with her hand halfway raised as if to knock. “Uh, hey! Long time no see.” She greeted a little awkwardly. She was wearing a pair of grayish cargo pants with a matching bomber jacket, and a white t-shirt that had a single bee on it as she flashed Blake a warm looking smile.

“Hey, thanks for stopping by on such short notice.” Blake replied rather quickly after noticing they were just standing in her doorway rather awkwardly. She opened the door wider for Yang to enter.

As Blake led Yang towards the living room, she took note on how the blonde was looking around her home with equal amounts of curiosity and apprehension. Honestly Blake felt a bit nervous herself, as the only people she’s ever had in her home was Weiss and her father the one time he was in town for business. But as awkward and slightly uncomfortable as it was to have a stranger in her home, Blake knew inviting Yang over to her house was the better option. While here, they had zero chance of being interrupted by the press or other random strangers. Thus allowing them to avoid most of the awkwardness while properly discussing on how to deal with the topic at hand.

At least that’s how Blake hoped this meeting would go. Well, the writer took some comfort in knowing that at least whatever was said today would stay between themselves and the four walls of Blake’s home.

“Did you want anything to drink? I have, uh, water. Or I have some tea if you would prefer?” Blake offered shyly as she walked into her kitchen while still being able to see Yang over the kitchen bar.

The blonde turned her head to Blake from where she was examining an array of books against the living rooms back wall. “Oh, no thanks, I’m good.” Yang shoved her hands in her pockets and unceremoniously plopped onto the couch.

The writer could only nod as she busied herself with making a pot of tea for herself. She decided on her rarely touched stash of chamomile and honey raspberry infusion. A blend she typically drank when she needed something to help her sleep at night. But given her still dangerously high levels of anxiety, Blake decided to air on the side of caution and trusted that the tea would help keep her calm.

Yang had sat quietly during the few minutes it took for the water to boil. Occasionally Blake would glance over at the blonde and spot her twiddling her thumbs or tapping her knee. _‘She looks as nervous as I feel.’_ Blake thought as she put the now filled tea pot and a mug onto a tray and carried them into the living room.

Sitting down on the opposite side of the couch she decided that she had stalled long enough and took a deep breath. “Yang, I... want to apologize. I did not know that he was a journalist. I had just sat down at the cafe when the next thing I knew, he was suddenly _there_ and asking me all sorts of questions.” She started out hesitantly, but then the words started to came out in a rush.

Yang rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I feel like I’m the one who should be apologizing. The _‘babe’_ comment probably didn’t help give the right impression. So it’s my fault really.”

Blake rubbed at her face suddenly to hide her sudden embarrassment. _‘Oh my Oum, she_ did _say that didn’t she. I had completely forgotten about that. Well... What’s done is done’_ Blake could feel her pulse thud in her throat. She couldn’t tell if it was due to embarrassment at her lack of attentiveness or potentially just her anxiety flaring.

“No.. Well, _maybe_? I don’t know. Honestly if he had just told me he was asking me these questions for an article, I probably wouldn’t have been so uncomfortable.” Blake said as she poured herself some tea.

“Probably?” Yang repeated with a skeptical look.

Blake opened her mouth to respond but stopped herself. Instead she took a few quick deep breaths and masked the action for blowing on her tea before continuing hesitantly. “I, well, I hardly leave my house. It’s not like I’m a hermit or anything. I just don’t handle crowds very well. So yes, if he had properly introduced himself, I would have been able to handle the situation. But since he completely lacked both personal space and professionalism he had unknowingly set off my anxiety.”

She felt her ears droop with her admittance. She looked to Yang and feared she would make fun of her, or something. But to her surprise Yang was nodding with a look of understanding. “Like agoraphobia? Or is it called enochlophobia?” She asked.

The writer felt a small wash of relief. “ _Ochlophobia_ , actually. It’s the result of when I was, well um... After an _incident_ that happened a few years ago.”

Yang looked like she wanted to ask for clarification, but shook her head instead. When Yang looked down at her right hand which was clenched in a fist in her lap, Blake noticed for the first time that the blondes right hand was a prosthetic.

Thinking back, Blake remembered having seen the flash of bright color when Yang had sat across from her at the cafe, but Yang had kept it from view during their conversation. Golden eyes stared in curiosity as the yellow and black fingers flexed a few times before Yang noticed she was staring and shoved the hand back into the pocket of her bomber jacket.

“Well, I can’t say if that’s better or worse than PTSD, but I can understand wanting to hide away from the rest of the world.” She said with an almost sad smile.

“You suffer from PTSD?” Blake nearly smacked her own mouth for blurting out her curiosity. She did not mean to ask such a question, how could she be so _insensitive_? Before she could apologize however she heard Yang chuckle softly at her.

“It’s closer to PTS now. It’s been several years since my own, _incident_. But I have some pretty kick-ass friends who’ve helped me along the way.” She smiled ruefully. “I’m sure I’ll have the chance to tell you the story later, but I do have a question for you Blake, if you don’t mind.”

Blake took a sip of her tea to try and relax the sudden tension she felt in apprehension, but nodded for Yang to continue.

“What does your actual girlfriend think of all this?” Yang said shyly as she picked at some imaginary lint off her pant leg.

Blake nearly spat out her tea.

Yang, no doubt noticing the faunus’s expression, continued in a flurry of words.

“I mean, I know that the papers are assuming we’re, like, _together-together_ , but- Okay so my roommate is a fan of yours and showed me your authors bio in one of your books and it said you have a girlfriend. Which makes complete sense cause the article even said that you were in a committed relationship. And like, I once dated a girl who would get jealous at the _littlest of things_. It didn’t matter if she was only four foot nothing and weighed 90 pounds soaking wet, she was the most scariest person _EVER_. And so I was hoping to like, _I don’t know_ … Ask her... To _not_ kick my ass?”

Blake could feel her pulse thud painfully in her throat as her ears pinned tight against her scalp. She didn’t plan on this ever being brought up. But that was her first mistake, Blake realized. She never took into consideration that Yang would have come across one of her books, or be the type of person who would take other people's feelings into consideration. Like how her _imaginary girlfriend_ thought of the whole mess.

“Uh, Blake? Are you okay?” From the corner of her eye she saw that Yang was looking at her with a concerned expression with one hand halfway extended towards her.

It was just too much for the faunus as she suddenly felt like she couldn’t breath. Blake clutched at her chest as pain washed through her, taking deep ragged breaths. As tears started to well up in her eyes, Blake was mildly conscious of dropping her tea mug. The sound of it shattering against the coffee table was muted as if she was hearing it while under water. She certainly felt like she was. The blood pounding in her veins was as loud as a surf crashing against the coastline, causing Blake to reach up with trembling hands to cover her ears to try and drown out the noise.

\---

_‘Holy fuck, she’s having a panic attack! Was it something I said?_ THINK _you blonde barbarian dimwit-WHAT DID YOU DO?!’_ Yang thought furiously as she stood halfway from the couch. She didn’t know if she should help or even how to help Blake, but the sound of the mug shattering against the coffee table spurred Yang into action.

“ _Shit_!” She exclaimed loudly as she jumped over the back of the couch, seeing it as the path of least resistance towards the kitchen. Even though she was still wearing her sneakers, she nearly skidded into the refrigerator as her eyes honed in on the neatly folded hand towels hanging off the oven handle. Grabbing all of them, Yang rushed back into the living room.

Her heart nearly broke at the sight of Blake hunched over grabbing at her human ears. She looked so small and vulnerable in her dark jeans and oversized purple sweater. Yang however made her first priority to take care of the large and undoubtedly sharp ceramic remains of the coffee mug that were close to the faunus’s bare feet.

She tossed two of the towels onto the coffee table to soak up the worst of the tea spill before quickly and carefully using the other to pick up the largest of the shards. Once done, she hastily laid the towel out to blanket the damp area before sitting directly next to Blake. She was still hunched over, breathing in deep ragged gulps and occasionally whimpering as if she was in pain.

“Come on, _think_ Yang... What was that stupid exercise that Pyrrha had you do all the time?” Yang quietly thought out loud as she rested one hand on Blakes shoulder, the other started to rub small circles in the faunus’s upper back.

Trembling violently, Blake's crying was getting louder. Yang took a deep breath in effort to channel her inner Pyrrha, then leaned forward slightly as she spoke in the gentlest tone she could manage.

“Hey Blake, it’s okay, you’re okay. Could you do something for me please?” She felt more than herd Blake take in a sharp shuddering breath as her slender shoulders stiffened. Yang continued speaking softly, hoping that Blake was able to understand her while in her current state.

“Could you point out five things you can see for me? Can you tell me what they are?” Yang counted to ten slowly. When Blake didn’t respond, she gently pushed on Blake's shoulder in effort to get her to sit up as Yang repeated her question.

Blake took in a few ragged breaths before speaking in a voice that was so quiet and terrified sounding that Yang almost missed it. “I-I, see, M-my tea p-pot…” Her words were broken up by her still uneven breathing, but Yang smiled and nodded encouragingly.

“Good, your tea pot. That’s one, what else can you see?” Yang counted it as a good sign when Blake took a few more deep breaths.

“I s-see, t-the te-a t-tray. Th-the c-coffe-ee t-able. M-my sc-roll and th-the t-owels.” Blake slowly brought her hands away from her ears. Wrapping them tightly around her midsection instead. Looking at her side profile, Yang could see that Blake was no longer actively crying though her cheeks were still damp. She was taking deep shuddering breaths with fewer hiccups as well. Progress, or at least Yang hoped as she continued with the exercise .

“Great job Blake, you’re doing good. Now, can you tell me about four things you can touch or feel?” Yang continued to rub circles on Blake's back and shoulder to help encourage the dark haired woman.

Blake took a moment of taking deep breaths before answering. “I-I c-can feel m-my c-couch and-d t-the carpet under my f-feet. I can feel y-your hand on m-my back. And y-our hand on my s-shoulder.” Yang couldn’t help her sudden smile.

“I see what you did there, counting me twice. That’s technically cheating but I’ll allow it.” Yang teased softly. She felt Blake tense at her attempted joke so she gently squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. “Okay next one. Can you tell me three things you can hear?”

She watched in silent fascination as Blake's faunus ears slowly pulled away from her scalp, twitching in different directions for a moment. “I c-can hear the air conditioning a-and the hum of the l-lights. I can also hear the t-tea dripping off the c-coffee table.”

Yang nodded, taking note that Blake's breathing was starting to even out and her words, even though her voice was rough and raw sounding, were starting to become steadier. “I’ll have to take your word for it, seeing as I don’t have super faunus hearing.” That got the smallest tug of a smile from Blake, causing Yang to smile in return. “How you doing Blake?”

Blake fully leaned back against the couch, forcing Yang to remove her hand from her back but she still kept a hand on the other woman’s shoulder. Blake relaxed her arms from around her midsection to rest limply in her lap. While waiting for Blake to reply, Yang couldn’t help but think that despite her eyes being red and puffy from crying, just how gorgeous the faunus looked.

“Tired…” Blake finally responded.

“I bet.” Yang said with sympathy. “I was told once that a panic attack is like running a marathon, that it’s just as physically demanding on your body.” Yang took a moment to watch Blake take slow even breaths, becoming slightly more relaxed with each one. “Do you want me to continue with the exercise?” Yang asked hesitantly.

Blake sat there for a moment in thought before she shook her head tiredly. Yang couldn’t help but chew at her bottom lip though as she thought of something.

“Hey Blake?” She asked almost hesitantly, not exactly sure as to how to voice her question. Blake lolled her head to the side, eyes tiredly blinking at her much like an actual cat would.

“Can I ask… What did I say that caused…” Yang, temporary at a loss for words, gestured vaguely at the mess on the coffee table hoping Blake would understand. “Cause if it was something I said, I would like to know so I can tell my brain to put a damn filter up so it doesn’t come out of my mouth again. That and apologize of course.”

Blake was shaking her head before Yang had finished speaking. The faunus sighed heavily as she brought her knees up and hugged them to her chest. “It wasn’t what you said Yang. I’ve just… I’m just so tired of living a lie.” she said cryptically. Yang waited for Blake to elaborate but when all she did was droop her ears back looking so depressed, Yang suddenly couldn’t stop her brain from jumping to conclusions.

_‘Oh crap, what if…’_ Yang thought rapidly. “Is your girlfriend abusive?” Yang asked before she could stop herself. It all made sense to her. How Blake wanted to talk face to face almost immediately after reading the stupid article. And how Blake had her panic attack _right_ when Yang mentioned how she didn’t want her ass kicked by a jealous partner.

Blake jolted her head up from her knees, looking at Yang with an appalled expression for a second before she buried her face in her knees once more. She made a muffled noise but Yang couldn’t tell if she had said something or just groaned.

“Sorry Blake, you’re gonna have to speak up. Do I have to kick your girlfriends ass?” Yang said seriously. Because honestly, _no one_ should ever have to deal with being in an abusive relationship. _Ever_.

With a defeated sounding sigh, Blake lifted her head. Her eyes were closed as she faced forward and spoke in a strained voice. “I don’t have a girlfriend.” It was as though Blake had to force each word out like it was the most difficult thing in the world for her to say.

Yang felt like time froze as she blinked in disbelief, thinking that she misheard that. Surely she _had_ to have misheard that…

“Say _what_ now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Peeks head through the dungeon bars* Oh hi… So given the chapter title you all SHOULD have seen that coming… And let me be clear, I REALLY _do not enjoy_ hurting my beloved characters. No really I don’t! _*sweats*_
> 
> *TuxedoBird from somewhere over the intercom like the voice of God* **SHE LIES DON’T LET HER FOOL YOU!** Now get back to work Button or I won’t feed you!! 
> 
> SILENCE YOU! STAY OUT OF MY AUTHOR NOTES!! D:<  
> *Begrudgingly disappears back into the dungeon*


	7. The Proposal

“Sorry Blake, you’re gonna have to speak up. Do _I_ have to kick your girlfriends ass?” Yang’s voice sounded serious, but the absurdity of the declaration made Blake sigh heavily.

_‘First she’s worried my imaginary girlfriend will cause her harm,_ now _she’s worried my imaginary girlfriend is abusive... I can’t_ deal _with this anymore.’_ Blake thought tiredly as she lifted her head from her knees. She faced forward but kept her eyes closed, not being able to handle looking at the blonde right now.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” She said the words slowly. Her throat felt tight as the words left her mouth.

_‘There, it's finally out in the open.’_ Blake breathed slowly to try and fight the tightness in her chest as she waited for Yang to respond but was only met with silence. Opening her eyes slowly Blake looked over at Yang.

Yang’s lilac eyes were open wide and were blinking rapidly. “Say _what_ now?” Her voice was thick with disbelief.

“I don’t have a girlfriend.” Blake decided to repeat herself. It wasn’t any easier to say a second time. Though her shoulders did feel like they had lost some tension, as if they were finally being relieved of weight.

Like flipping a switch, Yang suddenly looked flabbergasted as she started to gesture wildly. “But your books said… And then the newspaper mentioned… And then there’s you… _How_?” Yang turned on the couch to completely face Blake with her last question.

Blake could only lift her brow inquisitively. “How?” She repeated.

“ _How_ do you not have a girlfriend!?” Yang asked in a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.

Blake shrugged in answer as she stretched her legs and stood up. She needed to finish calming down from her emotional roller-coaster first before continuing with this conversation. Taking in the sight of her coffee table and seeing the hand towels carelessly tossed on the edge, discolored after soaking up the tea with the remains of her mug placed on top, the writer let out a heavy sigh. That was one of her favorite mugs. “Look, Yang… I know that the situation is, _complicated_... And you undoubtedly have questions. But do you mind if we clean this up first?” Blake gestured towards the tea massacre.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about your towels by the way, I sorta... Panicked.” Yang said with a grimace and sounding so apologetic that Blake couldn’t help her ghost of a smile.

“It’s alright. It’s not the first time I’ve spilled tea on my carpet. Trust me.” Blake was actually quite glad that her carpet hid the stains relatively well. Still, she made a mental note to dig out her carpet shampooer at some point. Just not right now, as using it would be an all day affair.

Walking into her kitchen Blake grabbed several cleaning supplies and her small trash bin. Yang had offered to help and at first Blake wanted to say no, but the blonde however silently took the trash bin from her and began picking up the remains of her mug. They worked together in relative silence for a bit as the tea tray was moved to the kitchen bar, the coffee table was wiped down, and the carpet was quickly vacuumed for any remaining shards of ceramic.

“So let me get this right.” Yang started as she stood by the couch just as Blake was finishing putting away the vacuum in the hallway closet. “Despite what the article and your own books say, you are in fact, single?”

Blake stalled in answering the question long enough to grab herself a new mug and poured some of the still-warm tea into it. The time spent cleaning her living room had succeeded in helping Blakes nerves return to something of normality, however she didn’t want her pot of tea to go to waste. It was good tea after all.

After taking a small sip, Blake looked at the blonde over the kitchen bar and nodded in response. “Yes that is correct.” Yang shifted her weight, looking like she was about to ask another question but Blake held up her hand to stop her. Chewing at her lower lip, Blake was unsure of how much she was willing to admit to the other woman. Then again she had already admitted to Yang her most guarded secret. _'In for a penny, in for a pound.’_ she thought.

She fiddled with the rim of her mug as she sighed. “There never was a girlfriend to begin with either. It’s just... _Oum_ this is going to sound ridiculous, but the first publisher I worked with... Well he was a bit of an _ass_ really.” Blake started hesitantly as she fought with her nerves trying to tell her that she needed to panic again. Yang however stayed silent as she sat down across the bar from Blake on one of the stools, lilac eyes filled with rapt attention as the faunus continued.

“He wouldn’t publish my first book unless I came up with a way to make myself more relatable to my would be readers. At the time he suggested that I use an alias or in the very least, pretend to be human. Because he claimed, and I quote, _‘no one wants to read something written by a faunus_ ’.” Blake took a moment to take a longer sip from her tea, finding that the memory still caused her a small amount of irritation. “So without telling him, I came up with my authors bio mentioning that I had a girlfriend, and sent it directly to the production team.” Blake finished with a tired shrug.

“I bet he found that amusing.” Yang said she gave an amused snort, crossing her arms on the bar.

Blake couldn't help but smile softly, finding it easier to talk about the subject the longer she spoke. “He actually never found out about it. As it turned out, not only was he a closet racist, he was also a homophobic.” Blake couldn’t help thinking back to just how she had overlooked that particular trait of her first publisher before continuing. “After the book was published he was outraged that it contained LGBT elements. Which, honesty, would have been something he would’ve known from the start if he had taken the time to read the _entire_ manuscript before hand. So he shouted at me, called me several racial slurs and terminated my contract while proclaiming the entire time that I would never write another book.”

Yang gave the golden eyed woman an amused look before rolling her eyes in a over dramatic fashion. “Ah yes, you’ll never write another book. So you wrote several.” Yang snickered.

“Pretty much. The publisher I'm working with now is thankfully much more open minded however she is also is much more attentive to detail as well.” Blake agreed. Taking another sip of her tea she noticed how her anxiety, which previously screamed at her each time the subject was broached, were reduced to whispers and thus more easily ignored. At least for now anyways. Regardless Blake considered this progress.

“Does she know the truth?” Yang asked with a tilt of her head, effectively pulling the dark haired woman out of her moment of self assessment.

Blake shook her head, her ears pulling back slightly. “I've tried telling her, but… Well you saw how I reacted earlier.” Blake made a gesture towards the living room, causing the blonde to nod in understanding.

With a deep sigh Blake moved around the kitchen bar to sit heavily on the other stool next to Yang. “I mean, it shouldn’t even matter, but I’ve let this lie go on for so long that each time she brings it up I just can’t help but tell another lie. And each time I do, I find myself digging even deeper into this hole I've made myself.” Her ears drooped to the sides. “And with this article saying that we’re dating, I can't help but feel like I'm forced into this corner that I can't escape from.”

Yang propped her prosthetic arm up on the bar and rested her head in the palm. For a moment she just stared at Blake in an inquisitive manner.

“Soooooo…” Yang started to say, as if she wasn’t entirely sure of what she was about to ask. “I keep thinking... What _was_ your reasoning for wanting to meet up with me then?”

Setting her tea aside Blake turned on the stool to face towards her living room while hugging her midsection, suddenly finding that she was nervous again but for entirely different reasons this time. “I don’t know. I had initially thought we would figure out a way to tell people that the journalist had jumped to conclusions. That you and I are not actually dating, that we’re just friends. But…” Blake paused, hugging herself tighter.

“ _Buuut_ …” Yang prompted with a raised brow in question.

Blake took a deep breath, trying to keep her composure. “ _But_... then I would still be stuck in this lie. I would confirm that we're not dating, but people would then still question who I’m dating.”

Yang lifted her head from her palm, giving Blake a questioning look. “Other than your publisher, who would seriously question you about your dating life? Cause no offense Blakey, you’re not some hot-shot celebrity everyone wants to gossip about.”

Blake huffed a laugh but the sound was without mirth as she turned back to face Yang. “True, but it's different for writers. When a celebrity is caught lying, it's a scandal or some hot topic for the news. Sometimes the lies are even fabricated by their own producers or other public relations personnel strictly for the publicity it would cause. Rarely does it end up negatively affecting their careers. For writers on the other hand, being caught lying can not only easily destroy their career, but also irreversibly ruin their credibility.”

When Yang gave the faunus a questioning look, Blake ran a hand through her dark hair as she thought of a better way to explain the situation. “For example, what's a favorite subject of yours?” She asked.

“That's an easy one, kickboxing, _duh_ ” Yang said with an amused eye roll as Blake nodded.

“Okay, so let's say that there was an author who wrote countless books on kickboxing and was considered an expert as they've built their career off of the genre. Then one day, it’s discovered that this author actually doesn't know anything about the sport, and has never seen a kickboxing match in their life. The knowledge they have been passing off as their own was actually gathered from others or was gathered online.” Blake could see that the blonde was starting to understand as she began to nod her head.

“Okay, I can kinda see your point.” Yang started before scrunching her eyebrows in thought. “But so, how does this all apply to you then? Like, I mean how does you not having a girlfriend potentially ruin your career? Are you pretending to be gay as well?” The blonde rubbed at the back of her neck. “ _Sorry_ , I’m just trying to understand the situation. Feel free to tell me to shut up at any time here.”

The writer turned on her stool to face Yang completely, ears still drooped. “It’s alright. I did say that the situation was complicated.” She sighed. Blake chewed her bottom lip again before answering. “I am bisexual, but setting aside my sexuality all of my books contain same sex relationships. A majority of those being female pairings.” Blake let out a frustrated sight. “So again, my relationship status _shouldn’t_ matter. However in my case it does because I’ve been lying about being in a relationship since the start of my career. So if I suddenly came out and said I’m not in a relationship and there never was a girlfriend, what do you think would happen?”

Yang nodded sharply at that. “ _Ah_ , I see. With how some people view bisexuals as either gay, straight or fake, and adding in that some people in the LGBT community _can_ be even more toxic than your average Joe... I can see why that might a problem.” Yang exhaled and ran a hand through her hair before meeting her lilac eyes with Blake's gold. “Okay then. What’s the plan?”

Blake raised an eyebrow at Yang. “ _The plan_? I thought we already discussed that?” Her tone letting her confusion be known.

Yang rolled her eyes at Blake. “I wasn’t asking about us telling people we’re just friends. You mentioned people would still hound you about wanting to know just who you’re dating. So I was asking how are you going to keep _those_ vultures off your back?”

_'Well she has me there…’_ She thought before offering a shrug. “I don’t know, maybe I’ll say we broke up or something.” Honestly Blake wasn’t even sure she could even pull that off given the difficulty she had just talking about her fake girlfriend. She’ll have to manage somehow she supposed.

Lilac eyes looked at Blake skeptically, causing the dark haired woman to grow uncomfortable all of a sudden. “W-what? I said I’ll work something out.” Blake said defensively.

Yang tapped a finger on her thigh before sitting up straighter. “What if I help you?” Blake gave her an astonished look before standing from her stool abruptly and began pacing in her living room.

“What? No… _No_ I made my choices for letting this get out of hand. So _I’ll_ deal with the consequences because they belong to _me_. You shouldn’t have to involve yourself in my problems Yang.” She could feel her stress and anxiety start to build back up before the writer felt a pair of hands gently rest on her shoulders.

The lilac eyes that bore into the faunus had a tinge of seriousness to them. “I’m already involved in this because of that stupid journalist Blake. People think we’re dating now, so why don’t we just go along with it?” The blonde shrugged as if her suggestion was no big deal. Blake on the other hand suddenly felt flustered as she shrugged away from Yang’s grasp.

“ _W-What_!? No, that’s absurd! What about you? What does _your_ boyfriend have to say in all of this?” Blake blurted out as it suddenly occurred to her that Yang very well might be in a relationship. The faunus would have to be considered blind to not see just how attractive the blonde was after all. Yang however just let out a boisterous laugh that edged on hysterical, causing Blake to become confused. What did she say that was so funny?

Yang was laughing so hard that she clutched at her sides, nearly bent over in front of the confused writer. After several minutes she finally calmed down where she stood up straight and wiped at an imaginary tear. “Man Blakey, that was a good one!” Yang said as she giggled a few more times. Blake was even more dumbfounded.

Yang placed her hands on her hips and cocked them to the side. “Blake, if you knew anything about me you should know that I am _far to gay_ for a boyfriend. And lucky for you, I happen to be girlfriend free as well.” She winked. Her lilac eyes were full of amusement and mischief.

“Oh…” Was all that Blake could say as she felt her cheeks grow warm with an embarrassed blush.

Sitting back on the stool Yang propped her elbows behind her on the kitchen bar, amusement was still written on her features as she looked back at Blake. “I mean, aren't you the fanfiction writer? Haven’t you ever written a fake dating AU before?”

Blake felt herself bristle as she was quickly growing tired of that particular joke, but Yang continued before she could protest. “Besides, speaking of the article, didn’t it mention something about you and upcoming events? How are you gonna handle that with your awkwarphobia?”

“ _Ochlophobia_.” Blake corrected in a curt tone. Her ears tilted back in slight annoyance.

Yang waved her off. “Yeah that. Isn’t that also going to be a problem?”

That got Blake to pause. Yang did make a good point. The writer had been too caught up over the ‘ _no girlfriend_ ’ problem that she had completely forgotten about the upcoming book signings and the the convention panel. Now that she thought about it, Blake knew she was bound to have a panic attack during the events. _‘More than one most likely.’_ Blake thought as her ears pulled back even further.

She saw Yang lean forward, her hands resting on her knees with lilac eyes looking at the faunus in a curious expression. “What do you normally do during one of your panic attacks Blake?”

The dark haired woman hugged herself, rubbing her arms and shoulders. “I normally just wait it out.” She admitted quietly. Blake chewed on her lower lip in thought before slowly remembering the strange activity Yang had made her do earlier.

Hesitantly her ears perked forward once more as Blake looked at the blonde. “What was that exercise you had me do earlier? The one where you had me listing off random things?”

Yang smiled warmly. “It was called a grounding exercise. My friend use to have me use it back when I would have my own episodes. It helps you focus on what’s around you instead of focusing on yourself.” Yang suddenly looked shy as she looked away and rubbed at the back of her neck again. “ I uh, wasn’t sure if it would work though. I haven’t had to use the technique myself in over a year or so.”

Blake nodded, continuing to chew at her lower lip in indecision. If she was being honest with herself Yang’s offer was tempting. However Blake could already think of several complications to her proposal. _‘But most of those complications are purely circumstantial. Surely if we plan things well enough we would be able to satisfy most inquiries, if not outright avoid them entirely.’_ Blake counter-argued with herself.

The faunus’s ears perked straight up as she remembered the itinerary that Weiss had sent her. Logically thinking it was the only true obstacle that prevented her from accepting Yang's offer. Blake started for her office before catching herself, turning around a little too quickly to a slightly confused looking Yang. “If it’s alright with you, I would like to go over something with you. I’ll just be a moment.” Without waiting for Yang's reply, Blake continued towards her office.

Once there, she quickly unplugged her laptop and started to log into it with one hand as she made her way back to the patiently waiting blonde. “To answer your question earlier,” Blake started, her attention currently on her laptop as she set it down next to her tea tray on the bar and began to pull up Weiss’s email with a few more clicks. “Regarding how I planned on handling my upcoming events with my condition. Weiss, my publisher, actually had the same concerns. She had pulled some strings and arranged it so that my ‘girlfriend’ would be able to accompany me to all of these events listed here.” She turned the laptop slightly so that Yang could have a better look at the email.

For a few minutes Yang eyes scanned over the email before letting out a low whistle. “Damn Blake, I take back what I said earlier. You’re pretty popular huh?”

Blake couldn’t help the small blush that formed. “That’s only because I recently found out I was nominated for an award.” She tried to sound modest before returning to the subject matter with a shake of her head. “So if you still think it’s a good idea to act as my, _uh_... Yang, you may have to attend these events with me.” Blake felt like her cheeks were on fire as she tried not to blush harder. Addressing Yang as her girlfriend was already causing her a great amount of both embarrassment and discomfort. Not to mention a healthy dose of awkwardness.

Clearing her throat instead to shake off the slew of emotions, Blake continued. “I mean, that is unless you are too busy which I can understand. It’s just… Well the exercise you had me do did help. Rather effectively actually. I just don’t think I would be able to properly focus to attempt the exercise on my own if I have another panic attack. So what I’m saying is… If you’re still offering to help, I would be willing to accept it.” Blake couldn’t help but bite at her lower lip in apprehension.

Yang broke out into a wide smile next to her. “Well you’re in luck Blake, I have nothing but free time on my hands. So consider me your personal _Anti-Panic_ coach!” She even gave Blake two thumbs up.

Despite knowing they were bound to face countless uncertainties and other obstacles, Blake couldn’t help but feel relieved in that moment. “Okay.” She nodded with a small smile. “So what do you want to do now? Should we come up with a story for us or something?” She asked almost shyly.

Yang looked like she was about to answer the question when the loud growling of her stomach interrupted the moment.

Lilac eyes went wide before Yang started to laugh out loud in embarrassment. “Whelp I guess that answers that. I’m game for talking some more and stuff, but do you mind if we get some grub first? I sorta haven’t eaten anything today.” She said while offering Blake a sheepish smile.

Taking one look at her kitchen Blake pursed her lips. She hadn’t had the chance to go grocery shopping yet so she knew she had little to offer in the way of food. That is until her golden eyes landed on a take out menu hanging on her fridge. “How do you feel about Chinese food?” She asked as she navigated her way into her kitchen to grab the menu.

Lilac eyes lit up with joy. “Do they have spicy szechuan chicken?” Blake nodded after quickly scanning the menu to confirm that they did. A good thing considering not many places delivered to her out of the way home.

Yang threw both hands in the air. “ _Woot_! Let me go get my wallet from the car and I’ll pay.” She was already halfway to the front door when Blake tried to protest. Her sputtering attempts caused Yang to turn towards the writer once she reached the front door with another wide smile playing on her lips. “Nope, no butts Blakey. You're gonna have to get use to your _girlfriend_ treating you to food.” Giving the faunus another flirtatious wink before disappearing through the front door.

Blake felt her cheeks grow hot with a furious blush. _‘What did I just get myself into?’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NO YANG I'VE NEVER WRITTEN A FAKE DATING AU BEFORE, DON'T YOU JUDGE ME!!!  
>  _*AHEM*_ I mean... OH look at that, the _‘Fake dating Au’_ tag has finally been applied into the story! TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH!!! 
> 
> Then again, looking through my rough (and I mean like bare-bones rough) outline I made for this story, we just **_NOW_** reached the first plot point. And we have so many more to go before the end… @.@ I hope you all like long fics cause I’m sure this will turn out to be a novel by the time we’re done.


	8. The Love Birds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AKA the Arkos Mini chapter!

Pyrrha found herself in the kitchen cleaning up the few dishes from her lunch. At first she had thought about just letting them sit in the sink for a bit, but ultimately had thought better of it. Had she forgotten about them, Yang would take that as an invitation to just pile the dirty dishes until they were a mile high.

It was a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much.

There were times when Pyrrha questioned why she was roommates with Yang, only to remember the destructive path that the blonde was on all two years ago. Pyrrha had to nearly force her friend to move in with her at the time in order to help Yang get back on the road of recovery. Thinking back to how close she was to losing her friend, Pyrrha was glad that the blonde robust woman was still with her.

She visibly shook herself from the dark memories. Those were not good times. Besides, Yang is doing much better in comparison now.

Looking around the open kitchen and into the living room, Pyrrha decided that some chores where in order, if only to keep her mind occupied. After all it was barely past two and Yang had been gone for little over an hour now.

As she grabbed a duster and some other cleaning supplies, Pyrrha couldn’t help her wide smile as she thought of just who Yang was with. Setting aside the fact that Blake was one of Pyrrha’s favorite authors, and therefore was a celebrity in her mind, she was glad that Yang encountered someone that caused her to gush. _Gush_! Pyrrha hadn’t seen Yang do that since she had met her last girlfriend. And just like that, the negative emotions came rushing back.

_‘Heart condition or not, the next time I see that wench, I will break her legs.’_ She thought darkly as she remembered how that woman had stomped all over Yangs emotions when they had broke up.

With the dusting done, Pyrrha took a deep breath to set aside the memories as she retrieved the vacuum cleaner out of the laundry room. For the next thirty minutes or so Pyrrha had completed vacuuming the living room and wiping down the coffee table. With the living room now spotless, Pyrrha had suddenly found herself with nothing to do.

Just as she was contemplating on the prospect of doing laundry, there was aloud knocking on her front door. Startled, Pyrrha quickly regained her composure as she went to see who it was. Opening the door, she couldn’t help her bright smile as it was none other than her boyfriend.

Dressed in his favored worn blue jeans and Pumpkin Pete hoodie, Jaune had a sheepish expression that quickly turned into surprise as he saw Pyrrha. “You know, I gave you a key for a reason.” Pyrrha said in an almost flirtatious tone as she stepped aside for Jaune to enter.

“I know, but I didn’t see your car in the driveway so I wanted to make sure if Yang was home or not.” Jaune laughed nervously. Pyrrha nodded with a knowing smile.

She had admittedly forgotten about that rule. Pyrrha had been dating Jaune for several months before giving him a key to her place. Yang at that point hadn’t met him yet. So on her birthday day while the red head was away at work, Jaune had used the key with the thought of making Pyrrha a cake. Only to be nearly assaulted by Yang who had mistaken him for a burglar. Yang had made a rule then that if Pyrrha wasn’t home, Jaune was to knock first and enter later.

Not the greatest first impression, but at least the two are able to look back and joke about it occasionally.

“Yang is actually borrowing the car for a bit.” Pyrrha decided to sate some of Jaunes curiosity as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “So, what brings you here?”

“Oh huh, here.” Jaune who until then had his hands behind him, now brought them into view. Revealing Pyrrha’s scroll held in one hand and in the other was a single white tulip. “Here. I’d tried to text you that you had accidently left your scroll at my place. But I uh, quickly saw the error in that plan. So I decided to swing by and drop it off in person.” He sounded embarrassed, Pyrrha couldn’t help but find it adorable.

Taking her scroll and pocketing it, Pyrrha gently took the tulip from him and gave it a purposeful sniff. “And the flower?” She asked, smiling behind it’s soft petals.

Hands now free, Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. “An apology. F-for last night I mean. I, well, I kinda fell asleep on you without meaning too.” He said with nervous edge to his tone. Pyrrha could only smile wider at him.

Yesterday Jaune had managed to turn in a few of his final essays early. Something about the professor for the class being pregnant. But that meant his evening was free as he didn’t work that day, so he sent Pyrrha an early morning text with plans for a date. It was a sweet gesture and Pyrrha had found it a wonderful idea, as their schedules made doing things as a couple a bit of a challenge.

So he had taken her to tour a local botanical garden for an hour or so before spending a majority of the evening at a food truck festival for dinner. It was a very lively affair as there was a live band and dancing involved. She had thoroughly enjoyed both before Jaune decided to take her to his apartment to watch a movie. It was some romantic comedy that Pyrrha couldn’t remember the name of, as halfway through the movie she had other plans in mind. Sadly though, when she turned to kiss Jaune she found her boyfriend had passed out next to her.

She couldn’t even be mad at him. After all he was a pre-med student in his final year majoring in radiology by day, and a busboy at a popular restaurant downtown by night. She was just surprised that he hadn’t fallen asleep on her sooner. Instead, Pyrrha woke her sleeping boyfriend just enough to convince him to move to the bed where they ended up cuddling all night.

Pyrrha leaned in and gave the blonde a chaste kiss on the lips. “I’ll go put this in some water.” Walking towards the kitchen she called over her shoulder, “Are you able to stay for a bit or do you still have classes?”

“Nope, I only had my one class this morning and my boss said it was okay for me to take the day off from the restaurant. So I’m free for the rest of the day.” He said cheerfully as he went to sit on the couch. Pyrrha nodded silently as she put the tulip in a vase and placed it on the kitchen table.

“Sooo, why did Yang have to borrow your car?” Jaune asked as the redhead joined him on the couch sitting close to him.

Pyrrha paused. Remembering the newspaper article and the way that Blake had immediately wanted to talk to Yang about it shortly after reading it. Pyrrha didn’t think it would be a wise idea to share that with Jaune. Or at least not yet. However she wouldn't just lie to him either. Thankfully a middle ground came to mind as she remembered her morning conversation with Yang.

“Remember the conversation I had with Yang the other day that I told you about?” She waited for the blonde to nod before continuing. “Apparently when she was out grocery shopping yesterday she had met, and I quote, _‘the most gorgeous woman on the planet.’_ She was even lucky enough to get her number.”

Jaune instantly started chuckling. “Let me guess, she had talked your ear off about her?”

“For a whole _hour_.” Pyrrha stated in false exasperation. “So she borrowed my car to go see her and talk supposedly.”

Jaune nudged Pyrrha with his shoulder. “It’s not like that lesbian joke right? Second date involves a moving van or something?” Pyrrha couldn’t help her laugh as she playfully smacked his shoulder.

“Goodness no! I love Yang like a sister, but I wouldn’t allow her to do something so absurd. Something had came up and Blake, the girl, had asked to meet up with Yang. That’s all.” It’s not a lie by any means, but Pyrrha just hoped it would be enough for her boyfriend until she spoke with Yang.

Jaune smiled and nodded. “Well anyway I’m happy for her. After all, strangers are friends you haven’t met yet. Or girlfriends you haven’t met yet.” He said with a laugh and wink.

Stretching an arm to wrap around Jaunes broad shoulders Pyrrha smiled. “You are too cute sometimes.” Pyrrha said as she began to play with her boyfriends short messy blonde hair.

A blush started to creep up his neck. “Thanks buuut... have you seen yourself? Your pretty _and_ amazing.” When he smiled Pyrrha couldn’t help but kiss him.

The kiss lasted long enough for Pyrrha to maneuver herself into straddling Jaunes lap as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Eventually she pulled back slightly just enough to barely break the kiss, their lips ghosting over each other. “You know, I haven’t decided if I forgive you for last night yet.” She said in a breathy seductive voice.

“Oh yeah? How can I get you to forgive me?” Jaune said as his hands slowly moved from her lower back to her thighs.

Leaning in, Pyrrha laid kisses along the blondes jaw for a moment before whispering close to his ear. “Oh, I think you know already…”

Jaune hooked his hands under her thighs and quickly stood up while holding onto a suddenly giggling Pyrrha. She wrapped her legs around Jaunes waist as her giggles transformed to laughter full of mirth as her boyfriend practically jogged in the direction of her bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **LET THE AGGRESSIVE CANOODLING COMINCE!!** But I’ll leave that to your imagination. As for me, I’m going to see if TuxedoBird has a dental plan for prisoners as I appeared to have lost several teeth while writing this chapter from the all the fluff. 
> 
>  
> 
> And let’s face it, Pyrrha would totally wear the pants in their relationship because Jaune is too much of a cinnamon bun to take control. -_^ I mean, she did kiss him first after all, it’s CANNON! Just saying… 
> 
> Okay okay, I’ll get back to work.


	9. The Game of 20 Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still at Blakes house, Yang proposes a way to get to know each other. (Also I hope you all kept your bunny ears and hand baskets... Time to find the Easter eggs I left!)

“Oh my goodness this is _sooo_ good!” Yang couldn't help herself as she chowed down on her deliciously spicy meal. Once the food had arrived, she and Blake had migrated to the faunus’s kitchen table to eat. The small round table was barely large enough to hold the multiple containers of takeout that currently sat between them.

“So I was thinking,” Blake began after several minutes of silently eating. “We should probably work on what to tell people. Like how we met for instance.” She said as she delicately took a bite of her fried rice with shrimp. Yang admittedly found it both entertaining and slightly attractive that the dark haired woman ate her meal with a pair of chopsticks.

In comparison she made Yang look like a savage as the blonde used a fork to practically shovel food into her mouth.

“Well that’s easy, we met at a cafe. No real reason to complicate it.” Yang said with a shrug as she took another bite of her chicken. _‘Cause honestly it’s not like I’m gonna be able to remember any of it later on.’_ she thought as she finished chewing.

Blake stared at her food, almost as if she was lost in thought. Picking up an egg roll and biting into it Yang had a sudden idea. She chewed on the morsel before pointing the uneaten half of the egg roll at the writer. “Hey, why don’t we play a game?” Golden eyes looked at her in confusion for a second before a flash of annoyance crossed her features.

“I don’t think now is the time to be playing games Yang.” She said in a low tone with her ears tilted back. Yang ate the remainder of the egg roll before continuing.

“I don’t mean a ‘ _game_ ’, game. I was thinking more of something that would allow us to get to know each other better.” Yang used her fork to shovel up more food and brought it halfway to her mouth. “For instance have you ever played twenty questions?” As she ate her forkful of food, she guessed Blake hadn’t by the way she furrowed her brow.

“It’s simple. We’ll alternate between asking each other questions that we both have to answer.” She offered Blake a smile. “How does that sound?” She quickly ate a few more bites of food as she watched the faunus purse her lips in thought.

At first Yang thought Blake would refuse the suggestion with how long she just poked at her food but then she nodded. “Sure, why not. You go first.” She said while picking up a rather large piece of shrimp and ate it.

Yang almost had to smack herself to keep herself from staring. _‘Seriously, how hopeless am I if I think her_ eating _is attractive?’_ She thought while forcing a friendly smile on her face. “Okay, I’ll start us off with an easy question. What’s your favorite hobby?”

The faunus tilted her head slightly with a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. “Reading.” She said simply. Yang couldn’t help but make a noise in triumph.

“Ha! I knew it.” Blake’s amused eye roll just caused the blonde to smile wider. “Now for me. I would say kickboxing but honestly I haven’t practiced in years. But I have a good deal of favorite past times. Like for instance, my friends and I make it a point to hang out at least once a week and before we part ways we always visit a bookstore.”

Blake made an amused sound. “Oh? And here I imagined you found reading boring.” She said as she took another bite of her shrimp.

Yang couldn’t help her goofy grin as she pointed her fork at the dark haired woman. “You’d be surprised. But I’m not done yet.” She said with a wink. “We actually tour the bookstore to see who can find the worst looking titles or book covers and read their summaries. We earn points if the summary is just as bad or worse then the reason why we picked it up. And of course the one with the most points wins.” Needless to say the writer looked appalled.

“Why? How can you justify ridiculing someone else's hard work and effort? And for what? A game?” He ears were pinned to the sides of her head as she sounded offended. Yang could only shrug to hide her sudden pang of guilt.

“Tell you what Blake, next time my friends and I hang out I’ll invite you along. Then you’ll see what I mean. I’ll even make an amendment to the rules and have you tell us how you would make the books better or more entertaining.” Blake continued to glare at Yang. The blonde found the expression both intimidating and adorable. Like the face of an angry cat almost.

“Okay your turn.” The blonde decided to try and play innocent as she bit into another egg roll.

Blake huffed, still glaring at the former fighter for a moment. She tapped her chopsticks on the edge of her food container in thought. “What’s your favorite color?”

“What, you mean you can’t guess?” Yang said with amusement clear in her voice as she tried not to laugh. Blake fixed her with a hard stare for a second before she started to look the blonde over in a less hostile fashion.

“Is it yellow?” She finally asked in a hesitant voice. Yang couldn’t help but make double finger guns at her in confirmation.

“You got it!” She said cheerfully. “ _Buuut_ if you want me to be more specific, I’d say electric yellow is my favorite. It was the same color as my first motorcycle that I had back in high school. You?”

“Purple.” Blake said simply yet again. When she made no effort to elaborate further, Yang made a circle motion with her index finger to prompt the faunus to continue. Blake worried at her lower lip for a moment. “I don’t know the name of the particular shade. But it’s the kind of dark purple you can see emerge in the sky just before dawn. That kind of purple.”

Yang clapped her hands together once. “There you go! See? Not so hard right? Okay, my turn.” Yang took a few more bites of her egg roll as she thought of another question. “If you could have a pet, what would it be?” As she chewed the last of her egg roll Yang was already musing over what the other woman's answer would be.

The writer had pursed her lips in thought before answering. “Most likely a cat.” Blake stated before staring at Yang with a serious golden expression. “Not because of my faunus traits mind you. But because other than feeding and general care they are self sufficient creatures.” She finished by picking up one of her crab puffs and nibbled on it.

Yang thought the image of Blake sitting on her couch with her nose in a book and a cat in her lap was a rather fitting one, so she nodded. “I can’t argue that. Me, well I like dogs though I may be a bit bias cause I grew up with them. But I can totally see the appeal of a lap cat.”

“No surprise there, you liking dogs that is. You seem like the type who would enjoy taking care of a pet that is considered high maintenance.” Blake stated with another barely there smile.

Yang tried not to laugh as she thought that in comparison, a high maintenance pet was almost like having a high maintenance girlfriend. Both she’s had experience with but that was not a story she planned on telling Blake. _‘Although, Blake seems like she would be the self sufficient type of girlfriend…’_ Yang curb stomped that train of thought quickly least she said something embarrassing or worse.

Thankfully being oblivious to Yangs train of thought, Blake continued with her next question. “So, if you don’t find reading boring then what is your favorite book or author?” Blake asked as she finished off her crab puff.

Propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm Yang gave the faunus an amused look. “Would it be cheating if I said your books?” Blake shot her a disbelieving look causing the blonde to snort a laugh.

“I highly doubt you’ve read any of my books. You would have most likely recognized me when we first met if you did. Plus if I remember right, you mentioned earlier it was your roommate who was the fan.” Her tone held a certain challenge to it as if she was daring the former fighter to say she was wrong. Which she wasn’t.

“Well you can’t blame me for trying.” Yang said amusingly as she held her hands up in surrender with a chuckle. “Being honest though, I would have to say the book ' _The Fairy Tales of Grimm_ ' would be my favorite. I use to read it to my sister when she was a little girl all the time.” She picked up her fork to scoop up another large bite of food and chewed quickly. “What about you? I image that you have a _literal_ library filled of favorite books.”

Blake nodded while looking slightly sheepish. “Well, I wouldn’t say I have a library, but I do have quite a few. If I had to choose one though I would say my favorite author is Z. Howler. I enjoy his writing style and their ' _Howling At The Moon_ ' series.”

Already knowing what her next question would be, Yang did her best to keep a straight face. “So, what made you want to be a fanfiction writer?”

Blake was lightning quick to pick up her last crab puff and threw it at the laughing blonde. The crab puff hitting Yang in the chest and bounced into the remainder of her szechuan chicken. There was a joke in there somewhere, _she knew_ , but she was far too busy laughing at Blakes expression to say it out loud.

The faunus made a frustrated noise with her ears tilted back in agitation. “For the last time I _do not_ write fanfiction Yang.” Blake made another intangible noise of frustration as she deftly reached over with her chopsticks and stole Yangs last egg roll. She purposely took a bite out of it while she glared at the still laughing blonde who couldn’t help but laugh a little louder at the grumpy face Blake made. The dark haired woman's expressions were just too adorable as she was equally easy to tease.

Once Yang calmed down enough to apologize Blake gave her one last disgruntled huff. “I’ve always enjoyed reading. It felt like I was able to escape into a different world and forget about my problems for a while.” Blake shook her head as she shrugged. “It sounds so silly, but I wanted to share that feeling of escape through my writing. To offer a different world for people to escape to or enjoy even if it’s for a short time.”

Toying with the crab puff Blake had thrown at her with her fork, Yang shook her head. “Nah, I don’t think it’s silly. Your reason is admirable compared to why I took up kickboxing.” She had to refrain from giggling at how cute Blakes ears were as they twitched forward giving away the writers interest. “It was a pretty simple choice honestly. My dad is an instructor at a gym back home and so I was exposed to it at an early age. I went to a high school that had a kickboxing club and after I graduated it felt only natural to fight professionally.” Yang paused long enough to take a bite out of the crab puff with a sly smile. “Plus, I was a bit of a hot head back then. So it felt natural to go into something where I could pick fights with people and get paid for it.” She shrugged as she ate the last of the crispy wonton.

“I can see that being true for anyone in the sport.” Blake said as she picked up her tea and took a sip from it. “Where did you grow up?” The writer asked after humming thoughtfully for a second.

Taking a sip of her water Yang made an excited sound. “I grew up in Patch. A modest sized drinking town with a fishing problem about a two hour ferry ride from here.” She smiled at the old town joke. “My dad still lives there with Zwei, his corgi. My younger sister however is still attending Beacon. And before you ask, she’s double majoring in engineering and cybernetics.”

Blakes golden eyes widened a bit. “That’s impressive.”

“Right? She’s the smarts of the family, not going to deny it.” Yang couldn’t help the pride that filled her voice. 

“Well, Beacon isn’t exactly an easy college to get into. I would know. That’s where I attended college for my masters degree in English literature. So I can image how proud you must be of her.” As Blake smiled, Yang couldn’t help but rub her hand at the back of her neck in sudden shyness. A moment passed of the two just smiling like dorks before Blake continued with a slight cough. “I grew up in Menagerie, Kuo Kuana to be precise. My parents still live there and work for the islands government.”

Yang sat back in her chair as she took in Blakes features, her food momentarily forgotten. “I would have never pegged you for an islander. Must have been pretty fun growing up.”

Blake shrugged. “I wouldn’t know if it would compare to your idea of fun. I’m an only child, and even back then I had enjoyed reading with as much enthusiasm as I do now.” The faunus leaned her elbows on the cluttered table as she leaned forward. Her tea held between both hands. “Was that your question _ooor_ …?”

Giving Blake a mischievous smile, Yang shook her head. “Nope. Don’t think you’re getting off that easy. Cause it’s time to get interesting.” She tapped her chin in thought as her smile grew wider. “Alright Blakey, what’s the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever done?”

When the writer made a displeased huff it only added to Yang’s curiosity. “ _Oooo_ sounds juicy already. Come on Blakey there’s no getting out of this one, spill it!” The blonde couldn’t help her laugh as Blakes ears drooped while looking embarrassed.

The faunus turned her head away from Yang. “I was in my Junior year of high school when I may have… Um, accidentally, set my parents house on fire.” She looked adorably flustered as her cheeks were dusted pink with a blush, causing Yang to give a sharp laugh.

“What? Oh come on, you have to tell me just how you ‘ _accidentally_ ’ committed arson.” Yang propped both her elbows on the table and rested her chin in both palms. Awaiting Blakes explanation with eager ears.

The dark haired woman fiddled with the rim of her tea mug for a moment as her blush deepened. “It was late, I was reading in my father's study when I was startled by a lizard that somehow got into the house. I threw the first thing I could grab at it, which happened to be the candle I was using to light the study.” As Yang started to giggle at the imagery of a younger Blake scared by a lizard, the faunus puffed out her cheeks out in annoyance. “It was a _large_ lizard okay.” Blake said defensively as she crossed her arms, causing the blonde to erupt into a fit of laughter.

Eventually Blake joined in the laughter though a bit more reserved than Yang. Once she was mostly under control, though still softly giggling, Yang wiped an imaginary tear away. “Man, I’ve heard of people being afraid of spiders, but _lizards_ is a new one for me.” Yang said as she saluted Blake with her water bottle before taking a swig. “I can’t say if my answer can compare to that, but back in high school my friends and I were throwing food at each other once. We were trying to see if we could catch it in our mouths while sitting several tables away. Of course it resulted in like, the biggest food fight _ever,_ as one of us missed and hit the other in the face instead and retaliated.”

Blake looked amused as she picked back up her tea. “Let me guess, you were the one that retaliated?” Yang only smiled in return.

“I will neither confirm or deny that. But anyway, like the whole cafeteria got in on this epic food battle. People had upended tables to use for cover as students hurled food at each other or spraying other students with ketchup bottles. Even a few of my friends were chucking open soda cans into the crowd like hand grenades. Someone even had a _giant fish_ and was smacking people with it, the whole scene was just pure chaos.” Yang couldn’t help but shake her head at the memory.

Looking at the former fighter over the rim of her tea mug Blake shook her head with a smile. “And how did this event turn out to be the most embarrassing thing you’ve done?” Her golden eyes held a glint of amusement to them that Yang had a hard time looking away from for a second.

“Well… At some point I got knocked out by someone wielding a _whole_ friggin watermelon on a stick. When I woke up I was in the nurse's office with the Principal of the school standing there.” Yang couldn’t help but play with a strand of her hair as she continued. “And also my dad. Apparently after I was knocked out the Vice Principal came rushing in to break up the scene and everyone scattered. Leaving me behind, passed out on the floor to take the blame for starting the whole thing. I was suspended for a whole week and my dad grounded me for a month. People started calling me ‘ _Melon Head_ ’ when I got back to school.” Yang shook her head with an amused smile. “Needless to say the newly acquired nickname didn’t last long as I got into more than one fight over it and getting into even more trouble.”

The faunus gave a short huff of an amused sound as she tilted her head again, tapping the rim of her tea with what Yang assumed to be a playful smile on her lips. When Blake opened her mouth to undoubtedly ask her next question she was interupted by the sound of a scroll going off.

Instinctively Yang patted her pant pocket where her own scroll was but then new that the foreboding tune that was playing wasn’t hers. She knew because her ringtone was an obnoxious high pitched jig, and second because the sound was coming from the living room. Looking at Blake she saw that the faunus looked suddenly startled as she quickly stood up to grab the device.

“It’s my publisher, sorry. I have to take this, I’ll just be a moment.” Blake offered with a worried expression as she lifted the device to her ear. She paced a little in the living room while Yang stayed at the kitchen table in case the conversation was private. However given the distance between them, Yang could still hear Blakes side of the conversation.

“Hello Weiss… Yes… Oh, Okay. Sure, I’ll see you soon.” The conversation was short, but Blake looked a bit troubled as she disconnected from the call.

“What’s up?” Yang couldn’t help but ask as she could practically feel the tension that suddenly filled the room. Blake had walked over to her laptop which still sat on the kitchen bar and made a few clicks. Her worried expression never leaving her features.

“My publisher wants to have a video call. She’ll be on in just a moment.” She looked troubled as she hugged her midsection and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Not a minute had passed before her laptop started to play music with an incoming vidcall.

Noticing how the faunus’s ears pulled back to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from her dark hair, Yang placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t even remember standing. “Hey, it’ll be alright. I’ll stay out of sight for now and let you handle it okay?” She tried to reassure Blake with a warm smile as she sat on the same stool from earlier.

It seemed to work as Blake nodded and took a deep breath and pressed the accept call button. Instantly her laptop screen was filled with the image of a sharply dressed woman with white hair that was pulled back in a off center ponytail. Her posture screamed professionalism while looking a bit intimidating at the same time. Though Yang couldn’t tell if the intimidation was because of her piercing blue eyes or because of the scar that was over her left brow.

_“Hello Blake. I apologize for the sudden video conference, but apparently me being on my scroll is taken as an invitation to being interrupted at every turn.”_ From where Yang sat she could see the woman, Weiss was it? Glare at something, or someone, off screen before turning back to Blake.

“It’s okay Weiss. Um, I assume this is regarding your call from this morning?” Blake’s voice sounded neutral, but her ears were still pinned back.

_“In a way, yes.”_ Weiss gave a frustrated sigh. _“As I was mentioning this morning Blake, I know that you are a private person and I do my best to respect that. But after spending the last several hours in various meetings with people whom I’d rather not deal with, some warning would have been appreciated.”_ The white haired woman took in a deep breath like she was trying to compose herself. _“Thankfully I have experience dealing with sharks and their_ ilk _. However I know I said that I needed to know if there were any conflicts with the itinerary I’d sent you by Friday. But given the turn of events I was wondering if you and Yang had a chance to look it over yet.”_

The writer nodded stiffly. “Yeah, we glanced over it and she said that she had no problem with it.” Blake shot Yang a nervous look in which Yang gave her two thumbs up and smiled her agreement.

There was an audible sigh of relief from Weiss. _“Excellent. There are still a few things left that we need to go over, but you know me. I would rather we discuss the more sensitive matters in person.”_ Yang could hear the publisher make a few clicks on her side of the video call before she continued. _“I have a few meetings to attend to regarding potential contracts and other clients in the evening, but would it be possible for you to swing by the office sometime around noon tomorrow?”_

“Um…” Was all that Blake said as Yang saw the writer begin to hug herself tighter. Given her posture and the discomfort shown on her features, she looked like she was about ready to run for the hills as she began to shake slightly.

Yang decided it was time to intervene. Watching Blake break down into a panic attack once already was enough for the blonde. As Yang stood up she did her best to not crowd the faunus too much as she peered over Blakes left shoulder and gently rested her right hand on the writers upper back. Almost instantly startled blue eyes snapped to look at Yang as she was now in view of the laptop's camera.

“Sup Weiss. Hey, so for your little meeting tomorrow was it just Blake you wanted to meet with, or did you want me to tag along?” Yang tried to sound as casual as possible with a friendly smile. To Weiss’s credit she looked stunned for only a second before composing herself back into a mask of professionalism.

_“I would actually prefer it if you joined us Ms. Xiao-Long. I just assumed you may have been busy.”_ Yang couldn’t quite decipher Weiss’s expression but she felt Blake slightly tense up at the last comment.

“Well, I have no problem with meeting up tomorrow. What about you Blake?” Yang asked as she rubbed gentle circles into the dark haired woman's back.

Blake nodded enthusiastically but the movement seemed stiff and unnatural to Yang. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

Weiss smiled for the first time during the call. _“Wonderful, I’ve already blocked out that time frame for our meeting. And might I add that you are a rather_ difficult _person to meet Ms. Xiao-Long.”_ She said as she folded her hands together on screen. Weiss seemed almost pleased but the fighters attention was mostly on Blake as the faunus had a near death grip on her own rib cage.

Yang couldn’t help but ponder over just how Blake had managed to maintain her secret for so long, but an idea came to mind. After all, why put all the pressure on Blake now that they are acting as girlfriends?

“You can just call me ‘Yang’ Weiss, it’s no biggie. As for meeting me part, weeellll that _might_ have been because I was avoiding you.” Yangs comment caused an immediate reaction from both the writer and publisher.

Weiss had sputtered out a confused ‘ _what_ ’ while Blake had snapped her head to the look at Yang so quickly the blonde thought her neck would snap. Yang did her best to seem unfazed by their reactions despite wanting to laugh but shrugged casually instead. “What? I would have gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for that meddling jour-”

“ _Yang_!” Blake interrupted. Her golden eyes were wide as her cheeks were flushed a bright pink. For a second Yang was reminded of just how close they were standing before continuing with her act.

She put on a fake pout and aimed it at the faunus. “What? _We talked_ about this…” She hoped Blake heard her unspoken ‘ _I’ll explain later_ ’ as she turned back to Weiss. “I have my reasons okay? I’m sure I’ll have plenty of time to bore you with them tomorrow if you want Weiss. Sound good?”

Blue eyes stared at Yang with a particular hardness to them before nodding. _“Deal.”_ she said simply in a curt tone. Yang saw her gaze move on the screen as she looked back to Blake who was still blushing though not as fiercely. _“That was about all I wanted to check in with you about Blake. The rest we can go over tomorrow afternoon.”_ Her tone was more friendly as she spoke to the author. Then again, Yang expected that her comment had most likely caused some offense.

“Yeah, sounds good Weiss. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Blake said with a nod though it was much more relaxed than her earlier stiff jerks. As she reached for the end call button Yang gave Weiss a final bright smile and a dorky wave that was probably a tad too enthusiastic even for her. Once the image of Weiss disappeared from the laptop screen, the faunus was quick to turn on Yang. The look in her eyes was enough for the former fighter to take a step back.

Okay several steps. Blake looked pissed… No she was not going to comment on how attractive that was.

“What was _that_ about?” Her voice had a bite to it as her ears were pinned back in agitation.

“Uh, you’re gonna have to be more specific than that Blake.” Yang tried to deflect the faunus’s ire but immediately held her hands up in surrender as Blake’s eyes narrowed into angry slits of gold. ‘ _Oh yeah, she’s super hot while angry…_ Damn _it Yang.’_ She mentally gave herself a roundhouse kick to the head to snuff out that train of thought. Deal with angry Blake first, _then_ comment on how hot she is...

Being unaware of the blondes internal thoughts however Blake continued. “That comment you made about avoiding Weiss. What were you thinking?” Yang did her best to not just simply shrug off the comment like she normally would. Instead she walked over to the kitchen table and sat down as confidently as she could manage.

“Well, you had mentioned Weiss didn’t know the truth. Now I don’t know just how you managed to pull that off for, how long now? I know you said since the start of your career but, whatever. _Anyway_ , what better explanation than it was simply because I was avoiding her?” Yang watched Blake go through several emotions. Anger turned to confusion then to a hard questioning stare as she pointed at Yang as if she was going to reprimand her. But after opening and closing her mouth several times she switched to covering her mouth and looked thoughtful.

“See? Best explanation. I’m not sure why I would be avoiding her just yet, but I’ll come up with something before we meet up with her tomorrow.” Yang said as she leaned back in the kitchen chair.

Blake slowly walked over to her side of the kitchen table and sunk into the chair with a sigh. “I guess you’re right.” She worried at her lower lip again before continuing. “Speaking of tomorrow, would you like me to text you the address to Weiss’s office? Or would you rather we meet up here and we can go together?”

Yang nervously rubbed at the back of her neck. “Uuuh, _yeah_ about that. Here’s the thing, I don’t have a car.” Blake gave her a confused expression, causing Yang to realize just how she had gotten here. “Oh right, I know how to drive but that’s my roommates car. She was kind enough to let me borrow it but I doubt she’ll let me borrow it again cause she works tomorrow.” She bounced her knee in thought. Surely it wouldn’t be too weird if she asked if Blake would be able to pick her up right? Her only other option would be to take the bus or some ride share service.

The blonde mentally scratched off the idea. _‘Naw, if we show up separately that might look weirder.’_ Yang thought as she made up her mind. “Would you be okay with picking me up tomorrow? That way we can show up together?”

The faunus tilted her head slightly in a way Yang was quickly finding adorable. “No I don’t have a problem with that.” Blake said after a moment.

“Sweet, I’ll shoot you a text with my address and email as well. So you could forward me a copy of the events and stuff so I could get a better look at it and all…” Yang added a bit awkwardly as she began to dig her scroll out of her pants pocket.

Blake nodded as she reached for her own scroll. When Yang finally pulled out her scroll and powered it on she had to do a double take. “Holy cow, it’s really 4:30? Guess time flies when you’re having fun eh?”

Wide golden eyes looked at her own scroll before blinking a few times. “I’m sorry Yang, I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” Yang waved her off as she quickly typed out her address and email to Blake.

“Nah it’s all good, I should probably get going though. Don’t want to worry my roommate too much least she start blowing up my scroll wanting to know if everything is alright.” Yang herd the writers scroll give a chime with her text message and stood from the table.

Doing her best to be a good guest, Yang started to clean up the remains of their food by re-boxing what was left of their meals. In the corner of her gaze she saw Blake give a brief nod. “Okay then. Would you mind if I pick you up around 11:30 tomorrow then?”

Yang couldn’t help her wide smile. “It’s a date.”

\---

The drive home took considerably less time than it had for Yang to drive to Blakes. Then again it may have been because Moogle Maps was created by programmers who got a kick out of giving people the wrong directions and getting them lost. Regardless Yangs smile didn’t leave her face the entire ride home. Not even when the winding back roads leading to Blakes home transformed into the concrete and asphalt jungle that Yang was more accustomed to seeing.

Turning off the main road and down the street that was lined with a mixture of older and newer looking town homes, Yang quickly spotted the one she and Pyrrha shared but then made an amused sound. “Oh? What do we have going on here?” Yang said out loud as she spotted Jaunes beat up sun bleached blue and rust colored pickup truck in the driveway.

Yang slowed Pyrrha’s car to a near crawl as she maneuvered it next to the dingy little truck. Exiting the vehicle as quietly as possible once it was in park with a wide mischievous smile now spread on the blondes face.

After all, what kind of friend would she be if she passed up on this perfectly good opportunity to scare her friends? She had to keep them on their toes after all.

Pausing by the front door, Yang strained her ears to listen to see if the two dorks were in the living room. Hearing Jaunes muffled laugh through the door confirmed that they in fact were. Yangs smile grew wider as she shifted her take out container to her other hand, pulling out her house keys as quietly as possible. After spending a painstakingly amount of time to slowly unlock the front door, Yang wasted no time in finally being able to swing the door open as loudly as possible.

“OH Honey, I’m home- _What the_!?” Yang said in a loud sing-song voice before fully taking in the scene before her.

Jaune was shirtless, clad in only his worn blue jeans hanging low on his hips. He was in mid motion of taking a swig from a water bottle that caused his bare chest and washboard abs to be on full display. Pyrrha however was only wearing Jaunes favorite Pumpkin Pete’s hoodie and was running her hand along her boyfriends chest. That is of course before the both of them were startled by Yangs unexpected and loud entrance. Now Jaune made a startled noise as he nearly spat out his water all over the living room while Pyrrha stood straight and tried to pull down the hem of the sweater as far down as possible to cover herself. All the while the both of them turning a brilliant shade of red, nearly matching Pyrrha's hair color.

Just as their surprised and embarrassed expressions fixed on Yang, the fighter quickly covered the front of her take out container, turning slightly like she was protecting it. “ _Whoah_ , hey! Are you two serious? _Right_ in front of my szechuan chicken!?” She gave them both a mock glare before breaking out in a fit of giggles. “Oh man, the look on both of your faces is _priceless_!”

As a few more giggles escaped her Yang had skipped into the kitchen and slapped Jaune on the shoulder as she passed him. “Get dressed nerds, I got something to talk to you two about. Then you can go back to your disgustingly adorable hetero flirting.” Both Jaune and Pyrrha had practically scrambled towards the bedroom as Yang continued to laugh louder.

“Oh those two... I am _never_ letting them live this one down.” Yang said amusedly as she deposited her leftovers into the fridge and waited for her friends to join her in the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay more like game of 7 questions… But you get the idea. 
> 
> TuxedoBird commentary: FINALLY! I can stop ordering take out food now! Sheesh.. Writers and their inspirational things...
> 
> Well _DUH!_ How ELSE am I supposed to trick you into feeding me? *Whistles innocently* 
> 
> TuxedoBird: (--_--)  
> ButtonMasher: (￣ω￣)<3
> 
> P.S: Sorry that this is a day late as I'm thinking of moving my posting days to Monday. It just gives me more time to tinker on each chapter is all.


	10. The Meeting With The Queen

Blake sat in her office, blankly staring at her manuscript that was pulled up on her laptop screen. She had intended to work on it, but her fingers haven't really moved since she had sat down. Glancing at her computer's clock, Blake frowned as she realized she hadn’t typed a _single_ word in over an hour.

Her thumb tapped at the space bar in a random rhythm before Blake finally resigned herself from attempting to write. With a dissatisfied sigh she took off her glasses and rubbed at her face.

As she switched to rub at her temples, Blake was fairly certain her lack of motivation was due to her mind being occupied with the events of yesterday. She doubted that though as the faunus was certain it was actually her nerves wrecking havoc with her. Because today is the day Blake would be meeting up with Weiss and introducing Yang as her ‘ _girlfriend_ ’. Blake was silently glad that it was just her friend they were meeting today and not someone else.

Like her parents, for instance.

Blake couldn’t help the sudden and unbidden imaginary of her parents reaction to the news. Her mother would be ecstatic and undoubtedly insufferable with just how happy she would be for her daughter. Her father on the other hand no doubt would grumble and complain while declaring no one was good enough for his ‘ _little girl_ ’.

Chasing those thoughts away with a vigorous shake of her head Blake groaned out loud. She _did not_ want to entertain those thoughts a moment longer. Besides she had other things to worry about.

Looking at her clock again Blake sighed as she actually took in what time it was, it was just barely past eight in the morning. She didn’t know what to do with herself and all these unwanted thoughts were not helping with the writers anxiety. She wanted, no, _needed_ to occupy herself somehow, but nothing was currently working. She had just tried working on her manuscript which proved unsuccessful. She could clean, but then that would be a waste of energy because after Yang had left yesterday Blake had went into a bit of a cleaning frenzy.

She even shampooed her carpet _just_ to work off enough anxiety before Blake was able to sleep.

_‘Would it be considered too early to go over to Yangs place?’_ Blake thought as she worried at her lower lip. The more she thought about it the more tempting the idea became. A part of Blake’s mind still nagged at her that Yang’s plan wouldn’t work, but then the other half argued it was because the two of them just didn’t know enough about each other. After all their game was interrupted last night.

Blake tapped her index finger against her desk in thought before making up her mind.

Picking up her scroll she sent Yang a quick message asking if it was alright for her to stop by a bit earlier than originally planned and sat back in her chair as Blake waited for the blondes reply. Given how the woman normally texted in such rapid succession the faunus thought she was going to get a quick response.

Several seconds ticked by which turned into several minutes with no reply from the robust woman. After about five minutes of just staring at her scroll Blake finally admitted defeat. _‘She must still be asleep.’_ She thought as she pushed away from her desk, suddenly deciding that a shower was in order. If anything it would distract Blake long enough to hopefully get a reply from Yang.

_If_ she replied that is. Blake secretly hoped that the blondes scroll didn’t die again.

Leaving her scroll in her office, Blake headed to her bathroom and stripped out of her sweatpants and shirt. Her golden eyes caught sight of her slender figure in the mirror, immediately zoning in on the scar marring her left hip. Feeling her ears tilt back as she ghosted her fingers over the scarred flesh Blake frowned at herself. She would have to tell Yang about the incident, sooner rather than later. She really didn’t want to talk about it though, but given how long she and Yang supposedly have been ‘ _dating_ ’, she thought it best Yang be made aware of it.

_‘But would she treat me as just another victim though? Or would she see me as some flawed individual that invited this kind of trouble into my life?’_ Blake thought darkly before she could stop herself.

Shaking off the sudden negative emotions Blake smacked her cheeks once with a rather loud slap to get herself to focus. She’ll cross that bridge when she reaches it, not before. Speculating on how Yang would react to the information wasn’t going to do anything but fray the faunus’s nerves more than they already were.

She quickly started the shower and jumped in while the water was still cold.

\---

Roughly thirty minutes later Blake emerged from her bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white towel. Though she physically felt refreshed from her longer than normal shower, Blakes mental state only felt marginally better as the chilly air met her skin as she walked towards her office. Retrieving her scroll she noticed that thankfully Yang had replied to her message with a simple ‘sure’. It was even spelt correctly.

Blake let out a breath she wasn’t aware she was holding in a wash of relief as she then walked towards her bedroom. Facing her closet Blake was encountered with a new problem though. This one however she has dealt with many times before but was still somewhat of a struggle each and every time.

What to wear?

As much as she enjoyed the sweatpants and oversized shirts she typically wore around her house, they weren’t exactly something she would like to be seen wearing in public on the rare occasions she deemed it necessary to leave the house. Finally Blake decided on a middle ground of both comfort and socially acceptable: a pair of dark purple leggings combined with a black form fitting sweater that reached down to her thighs. Deciding to keep her hair hanging loose Blake put on a pair of black ankle boots and called it good after applying a minimum amount of makeup.

Feeling prepared to face society, figuratively speaking, Blake sent Yang a short message saying she was on her way after grabbing her essentials and headed for her car.

\---

Blake found herself sitting in her car outside of a cozy looking one story townhome that was connected to several others that were nearly identical. Blake double checked the address Yang had sent her yesterday several times to ensure she was at the right one. Sure enough though, the numbers 71813 matched the ones posted next to the door in neat block letters. At first Blake had nearly missed the place as she was looking out for the red colored Ford that Yang had drove yesterday. Seeing it not in the driveway however, Blake admittedly felt relieved as that most likely meant that Yangs roommate was away at work.

A good thing considering it was all the faunus could do to not have a panic attack in the middle of someone else’s driveway.

Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself Blake finally exited her vehicle and walked up to the front door. After pressing the doorbell all that Blake could hear was the pounding of her own pulse. Trying to even out her breathing as best she could, she tried to pinpoint the reason behind her sudden spike in anxiety.

_‘Is it because this is an unfamiliar neighborhood? Maybe, but that doesn’t feel right. It’s not crowded, this place could actually pass for a ghost town right about now.’_ Blake thought as she shifted her weight from foot to foot. Suddenly she remembered something that Yang had said yesterday…

_Yang gave her a wide smile. “It’s a date.” The blondes voice was full of mirth and something else the writer couldn’t quite pinpoint. The honesty in which Yang spoke the words however caused Blake to fight off a blush with every fiber of her being._

Blake had to take a deep breath as she remembered Yangs parting words, doing her best not to blush furiously. She _knew_ it was just an expression of speech but still, Yang could have at least said something else. Regardless the innocent comment made Blake realize with sudden clarity that she hadn’t been on an actual date in years, not since her second year in college to be precise. Ever since then she had been too busy with her education and her writing to be bothered to try and keep up with a relationship.

_‘Relax, Yang had offered to help with getting you out of a situation_ you _put yourself in. We are not dating, we are simply playing a role and none of it’s real.’_ Blake snapped at herself as she pressed the doorbell again with perhaps too much force. Her cheeks undoubtedly were flushed as she could feel them burn with the thought of actually dating Yang.

Which was an absurd thought, surely.

Yes Yang was attractive, that was something the author could not argue, however she was not Blakes type. Not only was she loud, but it was also abundantly clear that Yang was the extroverted type, so Blake could never see them actually making it as a couple. They were just too different, complete polar opposites even.

The sound of a lock being turned thankfully pulled Blake out of that train of thought. Not a second later the door swung inward to reveal a tired looking Yang as she brushed a mass of messy blonde hair away from her face and lilac eyes glaring in the faunus’s direction.

“Look, whatever it is you’re selling I’m not interested so piss o- Oh! _Uuuuuuuuhhhh_ …” Yangs glare morphed into shock as she realized that it was Blake standing on her doorstep. “ _Heeey_ Blake… Sorry about that, I uh- When you asked if you could come over early I didn’t think- You know what never mind! Come on in!” Yang said quickly as she stood to the side and opened the door wider for Blake to enter.

Offering an awkward smile Blake ducked into the small foyer. The faunus did her best not to stare at Yang or in her general direction as the blonde was only clad in a pair of black boy shorts and a loose fitting orange tank top. However there was nothing Blake could do to stop her cheeks from burning anew at the glimpses she accidentally caught. The writers only consolation was that Yang looked equally flustered, if the brilliant blush that spread from the fighters neck all the way up to her ears were anything to judge by.

“Yeah sooo, feel free to have a seat while I go put on some pants. I’ll- uh, I'll just be a second.” Yang sounded a bit rattled as she quickly turned to go down a hallway. The blondes behavior seemed a bit off to the faunus. Just yesterday Yang was all confidence and sly remarks that borderline flirtatious. Now she seemed almost guarded, defensive even as she hid her right side- _Oh_ …

_‘She’s not wearing her prosthetic.’_ Blake realized as Yang had accidentally bumped into a wall, causing what remained of her right arm to come into view before the blonde completely disappeared out of sight. Rationally Blake knew that her early arrival had woken the blonde from sleep, her messy bed head and sleepwear being a dead give away. So it made sense for Yang to not be wearing her artificial arm. The dark haired woman highly doubted that it was comfortable to sleep with anyway.

Shaking the thought away Blake turned towards the cozy looking living room. It was a bit smaller than her own, but it seemed more open as there was no separation between the living room and kitchen area. The space also had a more lively feel to it as well in comparison.

A large comfy looking couch sat in front of a relatively large holoscreen TV with an oval coffee table sitting in between. On one side of the TV was a large bookshelf nearly overflowing with movies while on the other side was a considerably much smaller bookshelf that contained various game systems and video games to go with them. But what caught Blakes interest the most was all the pictures that hung on the wall, some even sitting on the shelves of both bookshelves. A few of the pictures showed Yang, either smiling brightly at the camera by herself or making funny faces as she stood next to a shorter girl with short brunette and red colored hair with silver eyes. Most of the pictures however were of a striking woman with long red hair. In some of the pictures she was in the company of Yang but mostly she was seen with a different blonde, this one having blue eyes and obviously male.

“That’s Pyrrha, my roommate I told you about yesterday. And the dork next to her is her boy-toy Jaune.” Blake was staring at a picture of the two strangers at some beach when Yangs voice caused the faunus to become startled. Clutching at her chest Blake turned around to see Yang with a sheepish expression, now wearing her prosthetic along with a pair of blue jeans and a orange t-shirt. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you there.” She said apologetically.

Blake quickly regained her composure and shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m just overlay nervous today it seems.” Deciding a distraction was in order, Blake quickly pointed to a picture that sat on the edge of a shelf that was a selfie of Yang and the shorter brunette holding up giant spools of cotton candy with wide smiles. “If you don’t mind, may I ask who this is?”

Yang walked up to stand a pace or two behind the faunus to get a better look at the picture in question. “Oh, that’s my smarty pants of a baby sis! Her names Ruby by the way. That was taken when I took her to a carnival to celebrate her 18th birthday. She got _sooo_ sick off of sweets that night.” Yang sounded amused as she turned away and started to walk towards the kitchen area. “Are you hungry Blake? I had planned on making breakfast before you showed up, but now that you’re here, I don’t mind cooking for two.”

The faunus’s ears perked up at the mention of food, which caused a laugh to erupt from Yang as she noticed the action. Blake blushed slightly as Yang began to busy herself with pulling out the necessary utensils and ingredients.

\---

Taking the freshly washed plate from Yangs outstretched hand and drying it, Blake couldn’t help her smile. “That was really good Yang. I’ll have to remember that recipe for later.”

Yang had made eggs in a basket, but instead of using bread she had used bagels instead. Though it was different, it was rather delicious in Blakes humble opinion as the two of them were cleaning up the few dishes that accumulated from the general cooking and eating. Blake had practically insisted that she help despite Yang's protests. The blonde’s resolve however quickly crumpled when Blake mentioned it was to return the favor for Yang’s aid yesterday.

“Aw, it’s no biggie, I’m just glad you liked it.” Yang said as she dried off her hands now that the dishes were finally done. Catching sight of the prosthetic caused Blake the think of her earlier resolve to tell Yang about her stabbing, including her asking Yang about how she lost her arm.

As the two of them walked over to sit back at the couch, seeing as Yang’s place didn’t have a kitchen table, Blake could feel her ears tilt back slightly. “Hey Yang, could I ask you a question?”

The blonde sat on one end of the couch sideways, her right leg crossed and tucked under her left as she propped her brightly colored arm on the back of the couch and rested her head against the closed fist. “Sure, we kinda didn’t finish our game last night after all.” The amusement in the fighters tone caused Blakes ears to tilt back further as she suddenly felt guilt wash through her.

As Yang patiently waited, the faunus couldn’t help but remember the reservation the blonde showed when Blake had accidentally stared too long at the artificial limb. Admittedly Blake was curious but as she remembered how Yang talked about her PTS caused the writer to pause as she started to second guess herself and worry at her lower lip.

“I um, it's not a game question. I was wondering if you had figured out what you had planned on telling Weiss. Why you were avoiding her that is.” Blake wanted to smack herself for avoiding her intended question, but seeing the pleased smile spread on Yang’s face however Blake decided that she was relieved. She doubted the conversation regarding her arm and her own injury would have been a pleasant one.

The smile didn’t last long though as Yang suddenly looked apprehensive. “Okay sooo, please don’t get mad. _Buuuut_ I kinda told Pyrrha and Jaune about everything when I got home…”

Golden eyes widened as the feeling of betrayal instantly coursed through Blake, feeling her body tense up in anger. The look on her face must have said as much as Yang made a small ‘eep’ sound and practically plastered herself against the arm of the couch, which was as far away from Blake as she could get for the time being. Before Blake could voice her displeasure of telling others her secret without her consent, Yang was already wildly waving her hands.

“It’s not what you think I swear! Both Pyrrha and Jaune know my dating history, so I told them because, well, I thought that maybe they could also help.” Yang almost visibly shrank, as if she was expecting the writer to attack her. Granted Blake was just about to do just that, but in a verbal manner. She stopped herself however as she mused over Yang’s reason with narrowed golden eyes.

_‘Of course, if Yang had suddenly claimed to have a girlfriend that she’s supposedly been with for years, that would be more than just a_ little _conspicuous to those that know her.’_ Blake rubbed at her temples with a sigh to try and calm herself. “I can see your point. But for future reference, I would appreciate it if you talk to me first _before_ you do something like this again. Okay?” Yang nodded her agreement vigorously as Blake sighed dejectedly. “So how are your friends able to help with the situation?” She asked after a moment.

Yang was back to being all smiles as she crossed both her legs on the couch. “Okay so, as you can imagine Pyrrha is like, your biggest fan and _knows_ things. Don’t ask me how though.” Blake found herself slightly disturbed by that statement but stayed silent as the blonde continued. “First off, she went over major events that totally play into our favor. For instance, I had my last match back in August and later in December that same year you had released your first book. Which totally gives us a few months in between for us to potentially meet and what not.”

Blake couldn’t help but think that certainly was rather convenient when she thought about it, but it didn’t answer her original question. “But how does this all lead up to you avoiding Weiss?”

The blonde made a non communal noise of excitement. “Right, so, Pyrrha told me about how big of a deal it is to be working for someone with the Schnee name because of Daddy Schnee’s credibility, blah blah blah... So we were thinking that I was originally avoiding her because I didn’t want Weiss to be giving you special treatment based off of you dating a former celebrity, and instead allow your writing skills to speak for you. Pun intended by the way.” Yang said with a wink. “And if that’s not good enough a reason, well I legitimately secluded myself away from everyone for a long time before getting this...” She indicated towards her prosthetic. “And not to mention me and my PTSD _, sooooooo_ yeah.” Yang finally finished as she casually leaned back against the armrest.

Golden eyes blinked in surprise as she couldn’t really come up with anything to say against the rather well thought out reasoning. Well, other than assuming that Weiss was the type of person to judge a client based off their heritage or dating preferences. Which she wasn’t of course, but Blake only knew that _after_ working with her for so long. So the assumption wasn’t entirely far fetched as even Blake had thought she would be thrown out of the publishers office just for being a faunus the first time they had met.

The only thing that had caused Weiss a great deal of shock during that fateful first meeting, was finding out that Blake was able to publish a gay romance while working with someone like _Cardin Winchester_. Which she admittedly found impressive much to Blakes relief at the time.

“That, might just work actually...” Blake finally admitted slowly with a nod of her head. Yang’s answering smile was so radiant that Blake couldn’t help but smile in return.

With a quick slap to her pant leg Yang stood up. “Sweet. Well then if it’s all the same to you I’mma go finish getting ready to meet with the _Queen_ and all that jazz.”

As she turned to start heading down the same hallway she went down earlier, Blake couldn’t help her look of confusion. “The Queen?”

Yang paused long enough to turn and shot Blake a playful smirk. “I’m talking about Weiss of course. I would call her _Ice Queen_ but admittedly I don’t know her well enough to think I’d be able to get away with it.” With another wink Yang had disappeared down the hall, leaving Blake alone while she tried her best to not laugh at the thought of Weiss’s reaction to the nickname.

After all, that’s _exactly_ how Blake initially thought of her when she had first met the esteemed publisher. Even after working together for several years, Weiss _still_ hasn’t realized that her strict personality and cold demeanor from when they had first met was the inspiration behind the main protagonist for Blake’s second book, _Iceflower_. Maybe one day the writer would tell her, but certainly not anytime soon.

\---

“I have to say Blake, your car is not only adorably tiny, but super quiet…” Yang said while they were at a stop light. Blake was quickly realizing that Yang couldn’t go five minutes before having to strike up a conversation. Taking that moment to safely look over at Yang, who was now wearing an oversized but comfortable looking black zip up hoodie with yellow stripes on the sleeves and her hair pulled up into a ponytail. The blonde was currently examining the interior of Blake’s car with curiosity as she idly sipped from her caramel mocha frappe.

“I’m surprised you waited until after we had stopped for coffee to notice this and not when you first got in.” Blake commented as she quickly took a sip of her own iced white tea with peach before the light turned green again.

“Yeah well, what can I say? I had coffee on the brain so it didn’t fully hit me until now I guess. But seriously, what kind of car is this?” She sounded like a curious child, it was kind of adorable.

Blake focused on driving for a moment as she turned onto the main road that lead to downtown Vale before answering. “It’s a BMW i1 model. And to answer your first question, it’s small and quiet because it’s an electric mini car. My father bought it for me as a college graduation gift.”

“Cool!” Yang said with excitement before pausing. “Wait, does this mean that you and your dad are the environmental activist types?” Even while not looking at the blonde, Blake could hear the teasing note in her voice. So instead of getting defensive Blake made the split second decision to play along instead.

“Yes, I’m all about the environment Yang. I spend my free time organizing rallies in front of City Hall to protest the effects our society has on the ecosystem. Every weekend we host a meeting and make protest signs to wave around and yell about how the big corporations are polluting our planet.” Blake managed to say in a flat tone.

“You’re messing with me aren't you?” Yang said with an amused snort.

Thankfully they were at another stop light so Blake was able to turn to face Yang. “I’m saving the penguins.” She deadpanned. Immediately Yang started to giggle before she erupted into a roar of laughter causing Blake to drop her facade with a smile of her own.

“Well, to be honest my dad _is_ a bit of an environment freak. But he got me this car because of it’s safety ratings, and my house has solar panels that allow me to charge it. Plus not having to not worry about fluctuating gas prices is also a nice bonus.” Blake decided to add in once the light turned green again and they were moving forward once more.

The two of them fell silent again as Blake drove through the outskirts of the downtown area. She knew she was getting closer as the small businesses and various apartments gradually gave way into taller and taller buildings, before morphing completely into the towering titans of constructed concrete and large glass pane windows. In the corner of her eye Blake watched Yang lean into her window to stare at all the buildings in silent awe before something caught her eye.

“So just letting know, and I’m not trying to psych you out or anything, but there are _a lot_ of people here. How you holding up with all this?” She sounded genuinely concerned but if Blake wasn’t driving she would have rolled her eyes.

Taking a glance to either side of the street, Blake noticed that there were in fact an impressive amount of people milling about in the downtown district. “I’m fine Yang, I appreciate your concern though. But just so you know, while I’m driving or in the safety of a vehicle crowds don’t bother me all that much. It’s when there’s no separation or barrier between me and the mass of people that I get… Anxious.” The faunus did her best to not grip the steering wheel in a death grip at the thought, instead focusing on her driving and the other cars around her.

“That’s good to know.” Yang said as she continued to peer up at the numerous buildings and shops.

Another minute or so passed before the building with a giant emblem of a white knight holding a broadsword came into view. The building for Summoned Knight Publications wasn’t the largest building in the vicinity, only having roughly fifty or so floors with an attached parking garage it was actually considered one of the smaller ones. Or at least in comparison to the buildings next to it that easy housed twice as many or more floors.

“We’re here by the way.” Blake casually confirmed for Yang as she navigated her car towards the guest area of the parking garage. They were still a good twenty or so minutes early based off of Blakes dashboard clock, but knowing Weiss her favorite saying was ‘to be on time was to be late’, so they were actually right on time.

As she parked the car in a open spot that was close to the elevator Blake could see Yang become nervous as she began to fidget in her seat. “So, awkward time to be asking this, but how do you feel about hand holding?” She asked once the car was in park and turned off.

Blake turned as far as her seat belt allowed her to face Yang. “Why do you ask?”

Yang fiddled with one of her sweater draw stings before meeting Blakes gaze. “Well I don’t know about you but I was always the physical contact type of girlfriend. B-but I didn’t know what you would be okay with so I thought hand holding was a safe idea. That is if you are okay with that of course.” The blonde looked a bit flustered as she rambled.

The request gave Blake a moment of pause.

With her small number past relationships Blake wasn’t really one for constant physical contact, it felt too possessive to her honestly. But even if she was okay with the thought of Yang with her arm slung over the faunus’s shoulders, Blake thought the action would seem like they were trying _too hard_ to look like a couple. Holding hands however? Well, that seemed like a more natural action. Not to mention a lot less awkward.

“I don’t mind holding hands.” She said finally as she unbuckled her seat belt. Grabbing her mostly untouched tea Blake finally exited the vehicle and locked it shortly after Yang followed suit.

“So we will have to check in with the front desk before they will let us use the elevators that lead up to where Weiss has her office.” Blake said as she pressed the button for the elevator. She told herself that she said that for Yang’s benefit, however the fighter was bouncing on the balls of her feet with a confident looking smile on her face. Blake was envious of that as currently it felt like she was being eaten alive by her own nerves as they both waited for the elevator to arrive.

Of course the blonde had noticed this. “Relax Blakey, we got this.” Yang said with the same confidence, her smile widening just a bit as the elevator finally opened its metal doors allowing the two of them to step inside.

_‘Relax, sure… Easier said than done.’_ Blake thought with a deep exhale of air as the doors closed.

\---

Yang couldn’t help her chipper demeanor as she and Blake were on probably the _longest_ elevator ride the fighter had ever been on as they were headed up to the top floor where supposedly Weiss had her office. Yang had made a passing comment to Blake while in the lobby, that it seemed a bit cliche for someone of Weiss’s status to be on the top floor. Though Blake was rather quick to assure her that several publishers, and not just Weiss had private offices up there. However that wasn’t the cause of the fighters current happy mood.

As the two of them made it into the lobby, hand in hand, the receptionist at the front desk gushed that her husband was the biggest fan of Yang’s. Even the security guard who led them to the appropriate elevators that went to the top of the building, one of which they were currently on, had even shyly asked for Yang’s autograph.

If she was being honest, Yang kind of missed the feeling of being in the spotlight and the attention that it brought her. It gave her a boost to her ego to have people stop and gush to her about being big fans and wanting her autograph. The only thing that ruined the nostalgia was the stares she still received regarding her right arm. They still unnerved the fighter and while in the lobby Yang had inhaled the remainder of her frappe just so she could throw out the cup and hide her hand in her sweater pocket. At the time Blake gave her a curious look but Yang just shrugged at her like it was no big deal.

Bringing herself back into the moment by staring at the slowly changing numbers above the elevator doors, Yang took note that they were on floor twenty something. Halfway there. Maybe… How many floors were there again? Yang turned to ask Blake but the question died in her throat as she noticed Blake’s posture.

The faunus was staring blankly at the elevator doors, presumably at her own reflection in the polished metal material but she had a far off look that told Yang she wasn’t. One hand practically clutched her tea against her chest, the straw millimeters away from her lips while the other hand was wrapped tightly around her abdomen. Now Yang might not be an expert when it came to reading Blake’s body language, or at least not yet anyway, but she could tell that something was bothering the dark haired woman.

_‘Is she upset over the hand holding thing after all? But we’ve hadn’t had to do that since I signed the security guards wallet…’_ Yang scrunched her brows in thought but ultimately decided to gently nudge Blake with her left elbow.

Blake instantly snapped out of whatever trance she was in, golden eyes focusing as they briefly glanced at Yang before she cleared her throat. “Sorry, I’m just… Lost in thought. That’s all. I’m fine.”

Yang couldn’t help but raise a golden eyebrow in disbelief. “Uh-huh, _suuure_ … Blake I’ve heard that line before, because _I_ use to say that all the time. What’s bothering you?” Yang didn’t mean the chiding tone in her voice but it was true. She had used that line quite frequently to the point where even Pyrrha had wanted to smack her upside the head to get Yang to talk about her problems.

The writer had exhaled roughly but the elevator made a startling ding sound as it slowed before stopping completely, the metal doors opening to signifying they’ve reached their designated floor. “ _I’m fine_ Yang, really. Let’s just get this over with okay?” As Blake stepped off the elevator Yang could tell her smile was forced as she gingerly offered her right hand for Yang to take.

Shaking her head slightly, Yang made no comment on the blatant lie as she gently took hold of the writers outstretched hand. “Okay. Lead the way then Blake.” She said instead as Yang tried to make her smile seem reassuring as Blake started to lead them down the hall.

As Yang was led past several glass walled offices and conference rooms, she couldn’t help but think that Blakes hand felt just as smooth and soft from the first time they shook hands at the cafe. Granted they felt a bit warmer at this moment, most likely due to whatever emotions that were being hidden by the faunus’s guarded behavior. Regardless, Yang was quickly realizing that she enjoyed holding hands with Blake, even though she really shouldn’t because... Well, because they weren’t actually a couple.

As the two of them walked past an open area that housed a sea of cubicles Yang suddenly felt like all eyes were on them. Despite knowing that her prosthetic was safely hidden in her sweater pocket, the many stares from random employees as they peeked over their walled off sections as the two woman passed by, had made Yang subconsciously shove the artificial limb even further into her pocket. Her lilac eyes scanned for something to stare at to distract herself from the countless curious stares… Blake just so happened to be the first thing her eyes landed on as the faunus was walking slightly ahead of her.

Blinking, Yang couldn't help but take in the writers attire. Granted she had seen Blakes outfit when she first showed up at her home, but now the blonde couldn’t stop herself from looking more thoroughly at what the writer was wearing. _‘Would it be creepy if I told her that leggings looked great on her?’_ She thought as her eyes traveled up and down Blakes legs for a moment. _‘Yes Yang, that would most definitely be creepy, under no circumstances are you to tell her that. Even if they do make it look like she has legs for da- Okay_ enough _! She’s gonna think you’re staring at her butt… It is a nice butt though._ DAMN IT _YANG!!!’_ Yang instantly snapped her head up as her cheeks felt like they were suddenly on fire. At least the distraction worked, a part of her thought as she searched for something else to stare at that _wasn_ ’t Blake.

Thankfully her eyes landed on a pair of doors set in a glass wall with drawn blinds and a haggard looking secretary sitting behind a small desk nearby. She was wearing thick black glasses and had brunette hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. As she looked up and noticed the two woman walking towards her, she beamed a bright smile and quickly typed something out on her laptop before nearly tripping over herself as she stood.

“Oh good afternoon Ms. Belladonna! Ms. Schnee is already expecting the two of you. Please, go right in.” She said with a too cheerful sounding voice as she opened the door for both Yang and Blake to enter.

The office Yang and Blake walked into had only the one wall made of the floor to ceiling glass panes, as the other walls were artfully decorated with what looked to be framed book covers from paper backs. Each were evenly spaced from one another and were even arranged by color, giving Yang the impression that she had walked into an art gallery rather than someone's office. Not that Yang was complaining, it was rather neat after all.

“Ah, you two have perfect timing. Please have a seat, I just have to finish sending out this email.” Yang’s attention was suddenly drawn away from the wall decor as she focused on Weiss, who was sitting in a high backed office chair with an equally large and tidy looking desk near the back wall. The publisher looked pretty much the same as she did from yesterdays video call, though her blouse was a different color Yang thought, though she couldn’t be sure.

As Blake moved towards the matching pair of light blue reception chairs in front of Weiss’s desk, Yang was quick to pull one out just enough using her left hand for Blake to sit down in. The dark haired woman merely glanced at Yang shyly before offering a very quiet ‘thank you’ that Yang barely heard before sitting in the other chair.

The two waited another minute as Weiss sat ramrod straight in her chair as she furiously ticked away at her computer before sighing audibly. As Weiss finally turned away from her computer she seemed to relax a bit as she offered both Yang and Blake a smile.

“Sorry about that, just another shark that had to be told off.” Her voice sounded a bit too satisfied for Yang’s liking. Thinking suddenly that the publishers email was actually made of harpoons rather than whatever professional terminology she had used. But as her blue gaze glanced between Yang and Blake, the fighter saw from the corner of her eye at how Blake slumped her shoulders a bit at Weiss’s comment.

“I’m sorry Weiss, I didn’t-” Blake was undoubtedly trying to apologize for, something, but Weiss had held up her hand and effectively cut the writer off.

“Oh no. You do not get to apologize Blake. This isn’t your fault after all.” As Weiss suddenly fixed her blue gaze on Yang it was all the fighter could do to not suddenly sweat bullets. “ _You_ on the other hand, have some explaining to do.” She said as her gaze suddenly resembled hardened steel as Yang gave a nervous chuckle.

_‘Okay, note to self: Angry Weiss is down right_ terrifying _.’_ She thought nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck. _‘Okay pull yourself together Yang. You practiced this with Pyrrha, you got this.’_

Doing her best to clear her throat, Yang finally composed herself to meet Weiss’s gaze. “Look Weiss, if you’re expecting an apology I’m not going to give you one. Given the reputation your father has and how _selective_ he is when it comes to choosing his own clientele, Blake and I didn’t know how you would treat her. Let alone give her the time of day.” Yang paused to allow that comment to sink in, which on Weiss’s part didn’t take as long as she thought. Almost instantly Weiss raised a perfect looking eyebrow with a look of disgust on her face and a protest halfway to her lips. Before she could say anything however Yang continued as she leaned back in her chair to attempt at looking casual. “So with my former status, I decided to take the back seat and let her take the reins because I wanted Blake to be given equal opportunity to be treated fairly. And let's be honest here, she’s _pretty amazing_ at what she does.” She finished with a shrug.

Weiss’s blue eyes continued to glare at Yang as she squared her shoulders and sat even straighter in her chair. “I’m well aware of her superior writing skills Ms. Xiao-Long. Blake is one of my most top performing clients after all.” Her tone held an air of pride as she gestured to one of the walls that contained the various framed covers. “As for comparing me to my _father_ , I’m sure Blake has told you that I am _nothing_ like him.” There was an edge to Weiss’s tone that spoke volumes of how the publisher did not like Yang’s side comment one bit. Which is what the blonde had counted on to begin with, as it fed into the misconception that Weiss was also a racist narcissist like Papa Schnee.

Just as Yang was about to make a witty retort, she felt Blake’s slender hand rest on her left shoulder. “It’s more than that Weiss. Yang and I were dealing with some… Personal struggles back then. And so we were also trying to learn how to cope with them at the time.” Blake paused and worried at her lower lip before looking at Yang with a down cast expression. “Yang, maybe you should show her your arm.” Blakes golden eyes looked pleading as her ears drooped to the sides. Her request took a second for Yang to fully register before it hit her like a sack of bricks.

Her eyebrows furrowed as Yang tried not to feel hurt. _‘What am I a freak show? Why should I have to show off my disability? To a complete stranger even!’_ Yang took a deep breath and closed her eyes to compose herself before her anger could lash out. _‘Relax, Blake said to show Weiss, not talk about it. Maybe she even has a plan Yang, you just have to trust her a bit. Besides, people see the damn thing all the time. What’s one more person?’_ She mentally counted to ten before opening her eyes and gave Blake a weak smile.

“Okay. But only because you asked me to babe.” Yang couldn’t help her quiet tone, only taking the slightest bit of amusement at the subtle pinking of Blakes cheeks at the pet name. Withdrawing her right arm from the depths of her sweater pocket and pulling up the sleeve to her elbow, Yang held her arm high enough for Weiss to clearly see.

Almost instantly her previous displeasure vanished from Weiss’s expression, turning into shock as she stared at the yellow and black limb with an open mouth expression. The longer she silently stared at it though, the more uncomfortable Yang became as she resisted hiding it from sight. After a moment Weiss finally composed herself with a shake of her head, opening her mouth to doubtlessly ask a question but thankfully Blake beat her to it.

“Weiss, it’s still a bit of a _sensitive_ subject. But as you can imagine it was a, difficult time. For both of us as we learned to heal and move on.” Blake moved her hand from Yang’s shoulder down to intertwine her fingers with Yangs, her golden eyes looked worried as she looked at the blonde. Yang gave her hand a slight squeeze and a thankful smile as she finally dropped her right arm down onto the armrest.

“I see. My apologies Yang, no one made mention of…” Weiss started before she slightly shook her head again. “Well then, let us move onto more important matters then.” And just like that the publisher was once more the embodiment of professionalism as she dug into one of her desk drawers and pulled out a small stack of paperwork. “As you both know I wanted to meet with you in person so that we could go more in depth regarding the upcoming events and the security measures that will be put in place at each. I’ve also received a finalized version from the financial department regarding transportation along with provided finances for the both of you including compensations. So starting off, I wanted to go over the basic set up of the book signings...”

As Weiss continued to droned on about the details, Yang found herself nodding along absentmindedly as most of the information went over her head. All the while being consciously aware of how Blakes hand never left hers the entire time.

\---

“I seriously thought that meeting would never end Blake!” Yang exclaimed randomly as she found herself back in Blake’s car as the author headed back to Yangs home.

“It was only a two hour meeting Yang. By Weiss’s standards that’s a short meeting. Trust me.” Her tone sounded amused as she turned off the main highway.

Yang couldn’t help her scoff. “Why does that not surprise me?” She said to no one as she heard Blake hum in response before both women went silent. Yang watched as the buildings whooshed by as Blake drove on. Of course the silence didn’t last long as Yang idly tapped her knee. “So how do you feel about all of this?” She asked once Blake stopped at a light.

The faunus’s ears twitched once as she briefly glanced at Yang. “You’ll have to be a bit more specific than that Yang.” Her tone sounded flat again, like she was hiding her emotions once more.

“I mean, how do you feel about traveling together? I mean, I know I said I was cool with attending your book signings and all that. But going to Haven? I mean, I've never been there so I’m still cool with it cause it’ll be like a vacation for me, but what do you think?” Yang propped her arm against the windowsill and rested her head against her fist as she waited for Blake to answer.

As the light turned green Blake let out a deep sigh. “I’m not sure how I feel about it honestly. I’m just trying to keep myself calm with the idea of interacting with so many strangers.” Blake sounded tired, like the emotionally drained sort of tired as her ears pinned back. Yang felt sympathy for her.

“Hey... “ She waited until the author quickly glanced at her before fixating her golden gaze back on the road. “It’s going to be alright Blake.” Yang said with her best reassuring smile.

Blake took a deep intake of air before slowly releasing it. “I know. It’s just… A matter of taking it one step at a time.”

“Baby steps.” Yang agreed.

They fell back into silence but by then Yang had recognized the neighborhood and new it would just be another few minutes until they were back at her home. Finally as Blake turned onto Yang’s street, she thought of Pyrrha. The redhead was still at work for a few more hours but Yang remembered her promise to Blake from this morning.

As the car parked in the driveway of her home, Yang turned to Blake. “Hey, so do you mind if I talk to Pyrrha and maybe Jaune about all this?”

The faunus looked at Yang for a moment before nodding. “Sure. Your roommate might want to know about you suddenly leaving for a while after all.” Yang couldn’t help her sudden smile.

As she had unbuckled her seat belt and had her hand on the door handle, Yang had another idea come to mind. “Hey what are you doing this Saturday by the way?”

“Other then working, I don’t have any plans. Why?” Blake asked with a tilt of her head.

“Would you feel up to meeting my two dorky friends and be initiated into our weekly get together this Saturday? I’ll even make sure we go somewhere that’s less populated just for you.” She asked hopefully while mentally chanting, _‘Please say yes.’_

“Yang I…” Blake scrunched her eyebrows as she closed her eyes and sighed. The fighter was suddenly expecting her to be turned down and did her best to not let her disappointment show, it was a long shot after all. Blake surprised Yang however as she exhaled suddenly and shot Yang a hesitant smile. “Okay… But _please_ , no crowded areas.”

Her smile couldn't be any wider. “Yes! I’ll be sure to text you about potential area’s to see if you're okay with them, okay?”

Blake nodded with the smallest of smiles. “That would be appreciated.”

Finally exiting the car Yang offered Blake one of her dorky waves, still smiling brightly. “I’ll text you later!” She called out just as Blake started to back out of the driveway to return to her own home.

Entering into the foyer Yang couldn’t help her happy dance as she dug out her scroll to literally blow up Jaunes and Pyrrha’s scroll in a group message.

_To Dork Squad 1:45 PM > GUESS WAT NERDZ, WE GOTS +1 4 SAT!!!!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness wasn’t that a long chapter? I thought about cutting it short but then it didn’t feel right so I muscled through it. Also can you hear the buzzing yet? No? Maybe that’s just the caffeine finally kicking in then…
> 
> Also-also, I’m warning everyone in advanced that Yangs terrible texting skills will make an ((small)) appearance in the next chapter. Eye protection is optional however. And that’s all the spoilers you’re getting from me. -_^ 
> 
> See you all next week. <3


	11. The Book Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake gets to hang out with Yang and gang.

Saturday couldn't come slow enough.

Ever since agreeing to meet Yang’s friends on Wednesday, Blake had buried herself in work to try and put it from her mind. Blake had even made a considerable amount of progress with her manuscript to the point of being ahead of schedule. And that was _including_ the constant interruptions from Yang as the blonde texted her about potential locations for Saturday’s outing. Granted the faunus found it endearing that the other woman was making an effort to ensure that Blake’s comfort was taken into consideration, but that didn’t mean the writer didn't have her doubts about the whole thing.

Sure enough however, despite her best efforts two days had come and gone giving way to Saturday. The day Blake was supposed to hang out with Yang and her friends. Not to mention going to whatever public places that Yang had ultimately decided on for the day. Blake tried not to think too much on it as it was all she could do to not break down into a panic attack.

Currently Blake was trying to decide on what to wear, her bedroom looking like a storm had blown through it as she struggled with various outfits for the last twenty minutes.

Drawers and cabinets were open with clothes strewn about in a haphazard manner all over her floor and bed. Under normal circumstances Blake wouldn't have put this much effort over choosing what to wear when hanging out with friends. But this was different. What made this complicated was that even though she was technically hanging out with her friend, she was hanging out with her friend who was pretending to be her girlfriend. So that technically made this a date. Or at least the author thought it was a date. Maybe even a double date as Yang had mentioned that her friends who would be joining them were in a relationship.

Blake felt a headache forming alongside her flaring anxiety, which was not helping her current situation.

She decided that her just standing in the middle of her bedroom currently clothed in nothing but her underwear, _probably_ wasn’t helping her wild emotions as Blake looked at the chaotic mess around her once more. That is of course until her scroll went off with an incoming text message that nearly gave the faunus a heart attack.

“What? No… _nonononono_ , it can’t be that time already!” Blake could feel her panic begin anew as she threw aside several shirts and other articles of clothing that her scroll had become buried under. _‘Please,_ just this once _let it be Weiss…’_ Though Blakes thoughts were in vain as not only did Weiss never send text messages, but several more text notifications sounded. Finally retrieving her scroll and unlocking it, Blake could feel her panic rise as she saw Yangs name pop up alongside the unread messages.

_Yang 10:05 am > sup blakey_  
_Yang 10:05 am > letin u know we r inbound 2 ur place RN_  
_Yang 10:06 am > ETA soonish!_  
_Yang 10:06 am > :) :) :)_

Typing out a quick reply, Blake then frantically turned towards her room and randomly grabbed the first articles of clothing she saw. _‘Now is not the time to be picky! She’ll be here in twenty minutes or less…’_ She thought as she stuffed herself into the clothes.

Thankfully they didn’t make her look too terrible as she dressed herself in a simple pair of white skinny jeans and black long sleeve turtleneck. After putting on the same ankle boots she wore to Weiss’s office, Blake thought the outfit worked rather well. And since the actual getting dressed part only took a few minutes, that left Blake with just enough time to brush her hair into a loose ponytail and apply a light application of makeup. As Blake was double checking her appearance in her bathroom mirror, her scroll started to chime with new messages from Yang.

_Yang 10:29 am > So Pyrrha iz dum dum_  
_Yang 10:29 am > she totes mised teh turn off 4 ur place LOL_  
_Yang 10:30 am > circling bak now_  
_Yang 10:30 am > c u soon! -_^_

_To Yang 10:31 am >_ I’ll meet you outside then.

Blake was mildly surprised she was able to reply with how badly her nerves were causing her hands to shake. Quickly she found her purse and after double checking to make sure it had everything she needed, she headed for her front door. Not long after ensuring that the front door was locked, a familiar red car pulled into her driveway with Yang practically hanging out of the back seat window.

“Hey Blake! Get in girl we’re going places!” The blonde yelled excitedly before an unfamiliar female voice scolded her to get back inside the vehicle.

Suddenly Blake felt nervous, and not in the way she normally felt when confronting crowds. This was the kind of nervousness one feels when meeting new people for the first time and wondered if they would accept her. Would they like her or not? Would her faunus heritage be a problem? Did she look okay?

As more similar thoughts ran through Blake's mind she suddenly found herself closing the car door and strapping herself in with the seat belt. She didn’t remember moving from her doorstep let alone getting in the car. How did that happen? Blake didn’t have time to think over the mystery as the sound of Yang’s cheerful tone snapped the writer back into the moment.

“Sup Blake! Did you miss me?” Yang said a bit flirtatiously. Turning to her she saw that Yang had her arm propped against the back of the driver's seat wearing a goofy grin on her face.

“ _Wow_ you weren’t kidding Pyrrha, she is hopeless.” An unknown male voice whispered harshly, which startled Blake as his comment was quickly followed by a feminine giggle. Rationally Blake knew there would be other people in the car for today’s dat- _adventure_. But now that the writer was confronted with the strangers, her earlier fears started to resurface once more as she went rigid. Her anxiety though was never given the chance to fully surface as Yang was quick to reach between the front seats and smacked at the unknown male, causing him to give a startled yelp.

“Shush you!”

“Hey, what have I said about fighting in my car?” Pyrrha, Blake suddenly remembered the woman’s name as she caught a flash of long red hair, said in a calm yet authoritative tone as she started to drive back towards the main road.

“But Jaune started i-”

“Ah ah _ah_ …” Pyrrha interrupted Yang as the blonde leaned back in her seat with a huff. “What are my rules?” Blake found it rather fascinating that the gentle tone Pyrrha used seemed to sound like a mother scolding a child. And Yang, now slouched in her seat with her arms crossed looking like a pouting teenager in her torn jeans and bomber jacket, acted very much like a scolded child.

“Seat belt on at all times, driver has control over the radio, and no fighting…” Yang listed off with a disgruntled huff.

“She’s missing about twenty more rules, but those are the big three.” Suddenly the same mop of disheveled blonde hair and blue eyes Blake had seen in the photos at Yang's place peaked between the front seats. He awkwardly extended a hand out to the faunus with a bright smile. “Hi, I’m Jaune by the way, and this is Pyrrha.”

“Hello!” Both of their greetings were warm and friendly.

“Blake.” She said simply, lightly shaking hands with Jaune before feeling slightly embarrassed. “B-but I guess you two already knew that…” She could feel her ears pull back slightly as she felt silly, only now remembering Yang had told her friends about the writer well in advanced. Not including the small fact that Pyrrha was an avid fan of Blake's work.

“True, but that doesn’t mean we have to treat you any differently than we would if we just met right? Cause we are kinda meeting for the first time anyway…” Jaune said with a chuckle and what could have been a shrug before disappearing back into the passenger seat. Blake decided that she liked Jaune as his honesty was rather refreshing, much like how Yang was when they first met. Just minus the flirtatious remarks. Despite finding at least one of Yang’s friends likable, giving Pyrrha the benefit of the doubt as she was occupied with driving, Blake found the sudden silence in the car unnerving.

From the corner of her eye Blake saw Yang, who was still currently pouting, and remembered how she had acted during their drive to Weiss’s office. _‘Now I know why she felt the need to talk the whole time…’_ Blake thought as she cleared her throat with some effort, feeling as if she swallowed a rock. “So… Out of curiosity, how did you all meet each other?” Though she posed the question to everyone in the car, Yang instantly perked up and beamed a megawatt smile at the writer.

“That depends Blakey, who do you want to hear about who met who first?” Her smile was wide and slightly mischievous as both Pyrrha and Jaune let out a giggle and a groan simultaneously.

“Huh, how about we start with who you’ve known the longest?” Blake asked in compromise.

“ _Aww_ that’s too easy Blakey, that would be Pyrrha of course…” Yang said with a wave of her hand as she then launched into a tale of how the two of them met, Pyrrha occasionally adding to the conversation. Blake learned that the two of them took kickboxing together, and during the ‘ _Great Food Fight_ ’ it was Pyrrha who was throwing soda cans into the crowd. Admittedly Blake didn't think she looked the type, but then again, who can tell these days?

Somehow the tale of Blake setting fire to her parents house was brought up which Blake groaned at. She felt slightly better about it though as Jaune told her about the one time there was a spider in his family house that he had tried to kill with a rolled up phone book. The end result was that he promptly broke nearly every window in the house in his pursuit to exterminate the pesky invader. As Jaune further told Blake how he and Yang met, Yang had laughed the entire time as Jaune described what was suppose to be a romantic gesture on his part, had turned into a matter of survival. At first Blake was horrified by the tale, but she had to concede that if she was in Yang’s position she would have done something about a potential burglar the house as well. Though she would have called the police, not manhandle the poor boy out the front door by the scruff of his neck.

As Yang was finishing the tale of how Pyrrha and Jaune met, which Blake found slightly romantic in it’s own quirky way, the writer finally noticed that they had made it to a part of town she had never been too.

Looking out the window Blake could see the streets lined with historical looking buildings painted in various colors with their original vintage signs in addition to whatever establishment that now occupied the space. Even the sign posts and street lights, though doubtlessly newer, were made to match the era of the buildings around them and thus adding to the theme of taking a step back in time. But as interesting and aesthetically pleasing the architecture was it wasn’t the first thing that Blake noticed.

It was all the people that lined the streets and crowded near the shops and restaurants.

Blake felt her ears tightly pin themselves against her scalp before a hand gently rested on her shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be alright. The place we’re going to doesn’t have a lot of people this time of day.” Golden eyes jerked to see Yang with a gentle smile as she gave the faunus’s shoulder a small squeeze in reassurance.

“No kidding. The coffee shop becomes a ghost town close to lunch time. So we’ll practically have the place to ourselves!” Jaune added cheerfully from the front seat.

“Have you all been there before?” Blake could hear the worry in her own voice despite her best efforts. She took little comfort from Yang’s continued silent reassurance as the blonde rubbed small circles into her shoulder.

“A few times. If it wasn’t so far out of the way we would visit it more often.” Even not being able to see Pyrrha’s face, Blake could still hear the smile in her voice.

“Okay.” Blake said with a deep inhale and nodded slightly. Yang offered her another smile and squeezed Blake's shoulder one last time before letting go. _‘I’ll just have to trust their judgment.’_ She thought as she spent the rest of the car ride trying to stay calm with slow and even breaths.

\---

The cafe was almost as small as the Grim Bean. The only major difference was that the Nevermore Coffee House had not one, but two separate outdoor seating areas. Jaune mentioned that the larger of the two seating areas had a stage for live entertainment during summer time. With it currently being Spring however, there was no live music other than the soft sounds of jazz and other classical genres that could be heard playing through the various speakers from the shops across the street.

The smaller of the seating areas, where Blake currently sat with Yang as Jaune and Pyrrha went to get drinks, was so small that it could easily be mistaken as an employee only area. Yang assured her that the small garden was in fact not off limits, as the employee’s had their own lounge inside and because of the misconception, hardly anyone sat in the smaller area.

If Blake was being honest with herself, she actually rather enjoyed the atmosphere of the small enclosure. Other than it’s small archway entrance, the walls that enclosed the space were made of decorative wooden lattice overgrown with vines that were covered in tiny flower buds that weren’t quite in bloom yet. There were also various potted plants scattered about the edges of the seating area, but Blake couldn’t tell what kind of flowers they were based off their still winter barren stems and branches. The writer however could easily imagine that during summertime the place would look and feel like being in a secret garden.

“See? Told you it would be fine.” Yang’s amused tone drew Blake's attention from admiring the garden. Seeing as the weather was pleasant, Yang had removed her bomber jacket revealing a orange t-shirt that had a black logo design on it. Blake couldn’t help herself from staring at it as she tried to decide what the design was. It almost looked like a burning heart, though she couldn’t be sure.

“Like what you see Blake?” Golden eyes snapped up to see playful lilac filled with mirth staring back at her with a knowing smile.

“I wasn’t- I-I mean...:” Blake stammered in embarrassment before burying her face in her hands and groaned. She was not staring at the others woman's breasts! Honestly she was just staring at the logo design, _that was all_! Of course Yang would misinterpret a completely innocent action.

“Relax, I’m teasing Blakey. Though you have to admit, _they are_ nice to look at.” Blake could practically hear the smug satisfaction in Yangs voice as the writer made another frustrated noise, feeling her cheeks burn.

Finally pulling her hands away from her face Blake felt her ears pull back as she tried to look upset. “You are terrible.” Blake tried to sound stern which only caused the other woman to laugh.

“Yaaang, are you misbehaving again?” Came Pyrrha’s chiding motherly tone as she and Jaune entered the seating area, arms filled with drinks and various pastries.

“Who me? Blake was the one staring at my boobs.” Yang said as the food and drinks were deposited onto the table. Blake couldn’t help her cheeks flushing anew at the comment before Pyrrha fixed Yang with a more convincing stern look and sighed heavily.

The redhead shook her head before looking to Blake. “You know, as Yang’s friend you should probably be introduced to the quick way of shutting her up when she’s misbehaving.” Pyrrha said with a smile as both Blake and Yang gave her a confused look. That is until Pyrrha reached over and smacked Yang across one shoulder. _Hard_.

“ _Ow_! Hey! Really? _Really_ Pyrrha!? That’s so uncool…” Yang pouted as she rubbed at her abused shoulder while Pyrrha stuck her tongue out at her and sat next to Jaune who was chuckling.

“It works doesn’t it?” She replied matter of factly before taking a sip of her drink. As the two began to banter back and forth, Blake couldn’t help it as she began to softly laugh at the two friends antics.

\---

“Okay remember, Blake can earn points if she can tell us how she can salvage the terrible summaries and make them sound better. Got it?” Yang said cheerfully as the group exited the car, Jaune and Pyrrha offering cheerful murmurs of agreement.

The coffee expedition had went better than Yang had hoped. Blake seemed much more relaxed around her friends as she began to tell stories and laugh along with them at the coffee house. Honestly Yang was a bit worried if Blake would even enjoy herself with her fear of crowds and all. But the efforts of her spending the better part of the last two days trying to find the perfect places to accommodate the writers needs had proved victorious.

So after successfully hanging out and chatting at the coffee house for an hour or two, it was on to phase two! To the bookstore! Yang intended to initiate the dark haired woman into the ‘ _book game_ ’ like she had promised during their chat a few days ago.

During Yang’s research into finding less populated areas she had found a bookstore that was only a few blocks away from the Nevermore Coffee House. What was even more surprising was that it was a bookstore Yang, Jaune, and Pyrrha had never been to before. So it was even better as it would be fun for everyone involved. Hopefully. Yang just crossed her fingers and toes that this part of her plan didn’t backfire on her and cause Blake to become upset or worse.

As they pulled up to Tuckson's Book Trade, opting to drive the few blocks because of the amount of people still out and about, the only way to describe the place was that it was a literal hole in the wall kind of a shop. It’s entrance was squished in between some big named clothing store, their entrance thankfully being on the other end of the tiny strip mall like building, and a hardware store of all things. Thus making the place easily overlooked. Upon walking into the bookstore, despite the small entrance and the inside being _maybe_ the size of a small apartment, the place made up for its small size by maximizing use of _all_ available floor and wall space.

Tall shelves filled with books lined the walls and everything in between was jam packed with overburdened shelves, barely leaving just enough room for people to maneuver through the store.

As the group entered into the shop, Yang saw that Blake had paused and inhaled deeply with a smile on her lips. Curious, Yang did the same and was instantly assaulted by the musty scent of countless books. Which made sense seeing as they was in a bookstore. She wasn't sure what Blake found so enjoyable about the smell though, as Yang tried not to sneeze.

_'Maybe it's just something you learn to enjoy as a writer.’_ Yang mentally shrugged.

Suddenly a deep masculine voice sounded from the back of the store. “Welcome to Tuckson’s Book Trade. Can I help you folks find anything?” Despite hearing the employees voice, Yang couldn't see him over the sea of books and shelves.

“Hello, could you perhaps tell us where your fiction section is?” Pyrrha said brightly as she grabbed Jaunes hand and navigated towards the employee.

Yang took that moment to lean closer to Blake. “We’ve discovered that if we inquire about certain book genres, it usually keeps us from being asked to leave if we get too rowdy. Plus it gives us a starting point.” She gave Blake a wink for good measure. Other then the slight tilt of her cat ears and the narrowing of her golden eyes, Yang knew the faunus was not happy with what they were going to do, though Blake didn't say anything.

Not a second later Jaune had reemerged into view and waved for Blake and Yang to join him. “Well then, shall we see what interesting stories we can find?” Yang asked as she offered her hand to the still adorably annoyed looking writer.

Blake rolled her eyes before taking Yang's hand. “I still think this game of yours is insulting to the authors…” she said quietly as she allowed Yang to lead her further into the bookstore.

Meeting up with Jaune and Pyrrha near one of the floor to ceiling bookcases near the back of the venue, Pyrrha gave them both a bright smile. “So that was the owner by the way, he said he would be in the back room doing inventory. So if we need anything just call for him.” Pyrrha said quietly. Yang heard the unspoken statement for what it really meant: _Owner is in earshot, keep things_ _quiet_. Yeah like that ever stopped them before.  _  
_

“So we normally have the loser from last week, that was me by the way, pick the starting genre for the game. I normally like to start with the romance section, because there is all sorts of… _interesting_ stories to find there.” Pyrrha smiled as she began going over the premise of the game quietly. “But since we made a special rule for you I thought it would be fun to start off in the genre that you’re known to write in. And since Jaune won last week, he gets to go first.” Pyrrha finished with a gesture towards her boyfriend.

“So pick a good one Jauney-boy.” Yang said with excitement. She felt Blake withdraw her hand from hers and saw that she had crossed her arms, the dark haired woman’s expression falling into a neutral mask. Though Yang knew from her earlier comment that Blake’s was still not amused with their game. _‘Which I hope to change after today…’_ Yang thought as she tried not to bounce in excitement.

They all watched as Jaune eagerly rubbed his hands together and began to search through the rows of various titles for a moment. “Ooo Here we go…” He finally said as he stood on his tippy toes to pull a book down from one of the higher shelves. He held out the book so that everyone could see the cover, which admittedly was a rather cool looking picture of an armored knight on the back of a velociraptor. “The Lords of Dinosaurs…” He paused dramatically before beginning to read the summary with enthusiasm. Unfortunately Yang was quickly lost as a list of characters and background information for each was mentioned, causing her to determine this was already worth a point, cause really? What the hell?

There was a moment of pause once Jaune finished reading the summary, all of them silent save for Yang who was trying not to laugh as she saw the bewilderment on Blakes face. The dark haired woman reached her hand out silently for Jaune to hand over the book, which he did with an amused goofy grin. Blake nearly snatched it from him, digging into her purse to pull out a pair of reading glasses and putting them on before rereading the summary for herself.

Yang just about exploded at the sight.

As Blake’s gold eyes scanned over the back of the book, Yang turned to Pyrrha and made a show of biting at her knuckles. Pyrrha of course just gave her a knowing look before shaking her head.

_‘I mean, Blake is already pretty cute without glasses, but…_ Dammmnnnn _this is so unfair…’_ Yang silently thought as she forced herself to get a grip. The effort to not comment on how Blake became sexy just by putting on a pair of reading glasses like some friggin super hero was monumental.

Thankfully Blake took off the glasses with a frustrated sigh as she handed the book back to Jaune, who was trying unsuccessfully to smother his own giggling. Though if he was giggling at Blake’s reaction or Yang’s useless lesbianism or both, was beyond the former fighter. “Well Blake? What do you think?” He asked as he put the book back on the shelf with a few additional chuckles.

Blake pinched the bridge of her nose as if she was in physical pain. “I think that summaries are suppose to entice people to _read_ your book. Not confuse them by shoving a cliche plot along with every major character at them with no sub context.”

“So how would you change it in order to entice readers?” Pyrrha asked this time, looking eager with her hands behind her back. Yang did her best to also look interested in what Blake would have to say, even though she was practically physically restraining herself to keep her composure. Or as Ruby use to say, ‘ _was trying to contain her gay._ ’

The writer pondered the question for a moment before exhaling. “Honestly? The summary would have been better cutting it off after, _‘is this truly just the ambition of one man out to unify the country under his banner, or are more sinister forces at work?’_ The rest of it though? That whole list of main characters wasn’t needed. Or it could have been simplified with something like, ‘ _it’s up to a group of unlikely individuals to try and make things right._ ’ Because seriously, ‘ _Duke of Pansies_?’ How did he even _earn_ that title? And the Robert character? I’m sorry but, part-time dinosaur trainer, part-time minstrel _AND_ full-time scoundrel?” Blake took a deep breath before rubbing at her temples. “That summary made my head hurt…” She said quietly.

At that Yang tried her best not to laugh. “See, What did I tell you? We find some _craaazy_ stuff!” Blake gave her an apologetic look but Yang waved her off. Blake could apologize to her later, they still had a game to play! “So what do you think Pyrrha, point?” She asked instead as she turned to the redhead.

“Point for both of them.” She agreed with a nod.

“Alright, Jauney-boy and Blakey are both on the board with a point each! My turn!” Yang said enthusiastically as Jaune made a silent fist pump while she began to search for the next book.

Yang was glad that Jaune had found a winner right off the bat, and thankfully with each terrible book they came across Blake slowly had gotten more into the game. Her revised summaries becoming more and more elaborate with each one. Blake even earned herself double points, which was Pyrrha’s suggestion, when Jaune had found a book that was so badly worded that the only way Blake could make it better was to turn it into a gay romance.

Eventually though the group took a break from their game once they came across a genre of books titled as ‘cozy murders.’ All of them had names like, ‘ _The Death of a Dead Man_ ’, and ‘ _Death by Chocolate_ ’, or Yang’s personal favorite title, ‘ _Murder at the Bookstore._ ’ Needless to say the entire section intrigued everyone as they couldn’t find a single terrible book in the section as each one had cleverly worded summaries and titles. Blake was even contemplating on picking up a few of them, and after finding that some of them included cooking recipes in the back, Jaune was also giving it a serious thought.

So while the rest of the group were making the tough decisions of which ones to buy, Yang had found herself meandering back to the fiction section.

Earlier she had spotted a few books with Blake’s name on them and decided that she should look them over. Granted, she _could_ have waited until she got home and asked to borrow Pyrrha’s copies, but where was the fun in that?

Upon finding the shelf that displayed Blake’s last name, Yang had picked up the first of the novels that caught her eye and took a peek at the cover art. Much like the book Pyrrha had bought last week, the cover was relatively simple in comparison to some of the other novels they had found. The picture on this book looked like a biker patch on the back of a leather vest. The patch itself was of a skull of some large predator, bear maybe, with a single rose clutched between its fangs with the books title, ‘ _Ivory Fang_ ’, written around the skull in embroidered block lettering. Intrigued, Yang flipped the book over and began reading the summary silently.

_‘One more big sale. Or a winning lottery ticket. That’s all Arryn and her father needed in order to leave their miserable town once and for all. So when Arryn’s father doesn’t return from the auto shop, she decides to go looking for him. Only to find him in the clutches of one of the local biker gangs calling themselves the Ivory Fang. But with her father being all the family she has left, Arryn makes a deal with a tattooed blonde devil... Her life for his.’_

Yang couldn’t help but blink at the summary. She had to hand it to Blake, less was definitely more when it came to summaries as this book certainly piqued Yang’s interest. Quickly checking to see if her friends were still occupied with the cozy murder section, Yang flipped the book open to a random page and began reading.

_‘Adjusting her eyesight to the poorly lit atmosphere was no issue for the faunus, but having to clamp her mouth shut and breath through her nose to avoid from coughing was almost a chore in of itself. Cigarette and cigar smoke clung to the ceiling in a thick haze, muting the sounds of both the static jukebox that was currently playing some classic rock in the corner, as well as the occasional clashing noise of several games of pool._

_Somehow though, Arryn knew this was more than just a typical biker bar. Judging by the persistent chill that ran down her spine and yelled for her to run, this_ had _to be the place._

_“Lost?”_

_A blonde haired, red eyed woman seemingly materialized from nowhere to Arryn’s right, and she tried not to look startled as she turned to look at them, almost coming nose to nose they were standing so close. The tilt of her panther ears gave her nerves away, however, which didn’t escape the other woman’s notice as her painted red lips pulled back into a near predatory grin that was still borderline seductive._

_“I’m looking for my father.” Arryn stated, ignoring the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat yet proud of herself to have spoken with confidence she did not have._

_Confidence that soon fled out of the smoke filled building as the blond’s red gaze blatantly slithered up her figure._

_“Got a name?”_

_“His name is-”_

_“I meant yours, kitten.”_

_It took almost all of Arryns willpower not to tilt her ears back any farther than they already were._

_“Don't call me kitten.” She said, with as much glare and venom she could muster within that moment._

_The biker woman threw her head back in a cascade of golden locks and_ laughed _. As she let out her mirth, Arryn could see a vine of roses inked into the woman's neck, creeping above the neckline of her leather jacket to stop just below her right jawline where the words_ Beauty is the Beast _were tatto-.’_

“Is everything alright Yang?”

Yang nearly jumped out of her skin as Blake’s voice sounded behind her. “Damn kitten, you scared the bajeebers outta me…” Yang nearly yelled as she clutched at her chest, turning to Blake and seeing her ears suddenly pull back and eyes narrowing at the blonde.

“What did you just say?” She asked with an underlying tone of something like anger.

“I- Uuuuuhhhhh…” Lilac eyes widened as Yang realized just what she had called Blake just a second ago. Embarrassed she quickly held up the book for the other woman to see. As golden eyes focused on the cover, Yang watched as Blake’s ears went from being pulled back, perked forward, then immediately flatten into her hairline.

“Yang… No….” Blake said slowly, her tone a mixture of embarrassment and seriousness as she shifted the few books she was holding to one arm and attempted to grab the book from Yang. Instinctively Yang held the book up above her head, a reflex mastered from keeping cookies and other sweets out of her younger sisters reach as children as she raised an eyebrow at the dark haired woman.

As Blake fixed the blonde with a frown, Yang gave her a coy smile as she thought of something. “Um, Yang yes?…” As Blake tried to reach for the book again Yang just held it higher, keeping the book just out of reach of the slightly shorter woman. “What? Am I not allowed to read my _girlfriends_ novels? You know I could easily ask Pyrrha to borrow her copies right?”

Blake dropped her hand with a defeated sigh. “ _Fine_. Just… Just don’t call me kitten.” As she walked off towards the counter where Jaune and Pyrrha were making their purchases, Yang swore she saw Blake blush.

_‘Well isn’t that interesting…’_ Yang smiled to herself as she followed after the faunus.

\---

Yang ended up buying the book.

Honestly if Blake hadn’t made a fuss about it she would have put it back on the shelf, and _then_ promptly asked Pyrrha for her copy later. But watching Blake puff her cheeks out slightly as she paid for the book was just too good to pass up.

At least the owner was happy that everyone made a purchase. Jaune couldn’t decide between two books, so Pyrrha bought one for him.

All in all it was a pretty eventful day. Jaune had ended up passing out in the passenger seat, his soft snores could be heard over the quiet hum of the vehicle as they made their way back to Blake’s house. Blake herself was currently reading through one of the books she had bought causing Yang to stifle a laugh as she saw the title was ‘ _Death by Tea_ ’, finding it an interesting choice given the amount of tea she had seen the writer consume. For a majority of the ride back Yang entertained herself by watching Blake, how she would randomly smile or scrunch her brow as her golden eyes scanned over the pages.

_‘I could watch her all day…’_ She thought before mentally shaking the thought away. _‘Reign it in Yang, you really need to stop doing this to yourself…’_ She sighed as she turned to look out her window instead.

The ride back to Blake’s home felt too short as they were suddenly pulling into the long gravel driveway. “I appreciate you all allowing me to tag along today. I surprisingly had a lot of fun.” Blake said once the car came to a stop in front of her house.

“Oh it was our pleasure! It was really nice meeting you by the way.” Pyrrha was all smiles as she turned in the driver’s seat to offer Blake a wave.

“It was nice meeting you and Jaune as well.” The writer said with a nod of her head before gathering her belongings and exiting the car. Yang was quick to unbuckle her seat belt and hop out of the vehicle to join Blake for the short walk to her front door. Who said chivalry is dead?

Blake offered her a shy smile as she unlocked her front door. “You know, you didn’t have to walk me to my door right?”

Yang couldn’t help her shrug as she folded her hands behind her head. “Yeah but I wanted to.” She said as she watched Blake fiddle with her keys a bit more and leaned against her door frame.

“Yang, I… Want you to know that I had fun. More fun than I was expecting anyway, especially with the book game. Thank you for inviting me.”

“Nah don’t mention it. I just thought it would be a good break from all this stuff going on, you know. So I’m glad you enjoyed yourself.” Yang beamed.

Nodding, Blake inhaled deeply before meeting Yangs lilac eyes. “Speaking of ‘ _stuff_ ’, the week after next is my first book signing. I’m not sure if I’ll be available until the day of, but would you mind if you and I got together sometime in the morning before the event?” It didn’t escape the fighters notice how the writer gripped her books just a little tighter and her ears drooping with worry.

She put on her best reassuring smile and nodded at Blake. “Sure thing. Feel free to text me if you need anything beforehand though Blake. Unless I’m asleep, I’ll always reply. Or you know, I’ll just bother you whenever.” Yang added with a chuckle and another one of her trademark winks.

It had the intended effect as Blake huffed a short laugh. “I'd appreciate that. But I should let you get going. Thank you again Yang.”

“Anytime Blakey.” Yang waved and walked backwards until Blake had disappeared into her home.

Getting back into the car she saw that Pyrrha’s green eyes where looking at her through the rear view mirror. Yang couldn’t help but scoff and look out the window. “Go ahead, let me have it.” her tone a bit bitter with the impending lecture.

Pyrrha said nothing for a while as she navigated the car out of the driveway, only speaking once they hit the winding curves of the main road, her gentle voice cutting through the silence that was previously broken only by the soft snores of her passed out boyfriend. “Yang, you need to be careful.” When Yang only rolled her eyes and refused to even look in Pyrrha’s direction, the redhead continued. “I know you like her. It’s clear as day to anyone who knows you, but my statement still stands from the other day. You need to focus on being _just_ friends for the time being.”

Yang sighed heavily. “I _know_ … It’s just, difficult.”

The sound of Pyrrha sighing herself had the blonde looking at her. “I know Yang. With everything you told Jaune and I, I understand the circumstances in why you two are doing this. But you can’t let that become an excuse for you to try and force an actual relationship with Blake. You’ll just scare her off, or worse.”

Inhaling deeply, feeling her lungs expand as far as they could, Yang held it for the count of three before exhaling slowly. “Yeah…. I know.” She repeated in a near defeated tone of voice. _‘It doesn’t help the way I feel about her though…’_ Yang thought as she was silent for the rest of the car ride home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to TuxedoBird for writing the summary(s) and little snippet(s) from Blake’s books. And I say (s) cause the moment I told Tuxedo about the genres and themes of each one of Blakes books, they quite literally went “Oh cool, this is mine now!” *Grabs my notes and quickly toddles off while laughing maniacally and leaving me locked in my dungeon cell* 
> 
> No Joke.
> 
> So expect more random snippets in the future as Yang will be occasionally reading Blake’s writing. Side note: I ADORE what Tuxedo wrote for Iceflower. It’s probably my favorite out of all of them. But more on those later. :) 
> 
> P.S- Yangs terrible texting skills are back with a vengeance in the next chapter. Eye protection is a must! This is your only warning. And I apologize in advance for those that don’t, cause you might need new eyeballs afterwards. Yeah it's that bad... 
> 
> SEE YOU ALL LATERS!!


	12. The Texts Messages Bonus Chapter Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA It's all texts. All of it. If no one reads this chapter I don't blame them.

**\---Monday, 12 days before the book signing---**

Yang 1:06 pm> Sup

Blake 1:08 pm> Hello Yang.

Yang 1:09 pm> whatcha doin?

Blake 1:11 pm> I’m typing at the moment.

Yang 1:11 pm> cool cool  
Yand 1:12 PM> im bored

Blake 1:15 pm> I can tell.

Yang 1:17 pm> soooooo  
Yang 1:17 pm> when ur b-day?

Blake 1:20 pm> Why would you want to know that?

Yang 1:21 pm> game of 20 questions, duh  
Yang 1:21 pm> plus I has a curious  
Yang 1:22 pm> and u know whut they say about curiosity

Blake 1:24 pm> I see. It’s March 4th if you must know.

Yang 1:26 pm> Awwww just missed ur b-day! D:  
Yang 1:27 pm> Nex year 4 sure gonna get u a present!!  
Yang 1:28 pm> fishes

Blake 1:30 pm> You’re going to get me fishes for my next birthday?

Yang 1:31 pm> no silly!  
Yang 1:31 pm> ur star sign  
Yang 1:32 pm> My b-day is aug 2  
Yang 1:32 pm> not even lion about it  
Yang 1:33 pm> heh get it?  
Yang 1:36 pm> blakey?  
Yang 1:40 pm> ???  
Yang 1:42 pm> u ignoring me now?  
Yang 1:45 pm> was it 2 punny 4 u?  
Yang 1:53 pm> Im gona take that as yes  
Yang 2:00 pm> Fiiiiinnnnne I’ll let u work

**\---Friday, 8 days before the book signing---**

Blake 11:30 am> I have a question for you.

Yang 11:32 am> teh answer is 42

Blake 11:35 am> Excuse me?

Yang 11:35 am> 42  
Yang 11:36 am> clearly u nevr seen hitchhiking guide to teh universe

Blake 11:38 am> No, I have not.

Yang 11:39 am> u poor sheltered soul  
Yang 11:40 am> whts yer question?

Blake 11:43 am> I’m not sure if I should ask you now.

Yang 11:44 am> awwwwwwww D:  
Yang 11:45 am> come on nows im curious  
Yang 11:46 am> plllleeeeaaaassseeeeee

Blake 11:48 am> Okay.  
Blake 11:50 am> If a princess asks a knight to teach her how to fight, how do you think the knight would react?  
Blake 11:51 am> The knight by the way is the princess’s sworn bodyguard.

Yang 11:52 am> iz she hot?

Blake 11:53 am> Really Yang?

Yang 11:54 am> whut? Is legit question!  
Yang 11:55 am> I swears it!

Blake 11:57 am> How is that question even relevant to being asked to teach someone how to fight?

Yang 11:58 am> ez  
Yang 11:59 am> if shez hot, they giv n 2 their request cus they cant say no

Blake 12:05 pm> The knight finds her attractive, yes. But their relationship is purely professional.

Yang 12:06 pm> u no fun.  
Yang 12:06 pm> but for realzies  
Yang 12:07 pm> start with basics  
Yang 12:07 pm> simple self def stuff nothign fancy

Blake 12:09 pm> I see. And what would some of these basic self defense moves be?

Yang 12:10 pm> ez stuff  
Yang 12:11 pm> like how 2 give swift kick 2 the tinderbits  
Yang 12:11 pm> or how 2 use elbows n knees when sum1 grabs u  
Yang 12:13 pm> does dis help

Blake 12:18 pm> Yes actually, thank you.

Yang 12:19 pm> anytime! :D :D :D  
Yang 12:22 pm> u know, I could show u thes moves n person ryt?  
Yang 12:23 pm> maybe even teach u if u want  
Yang 12:23 pm> -_^

Blake 12:27 pm> I’ll have to pass on your offer.

Yang 12:28 pm> spoil sport

**\---Sunday, 6 days before the book signing---**

Yang 5:34 pm> hey blake…

Blake 5:38 pm> Yes Yang?

Yang 5:39 pm> RU sure weve nvr met B4?

Blake 5:41 pm> You are unfortunately unforgettable Yang. So yes, I am more than positive we have never met before.

Yang 5:42 pm> I don belive u.

Blake 5:46 pm> Okay I’ll bite. Why do you think we’ve met before?

Yang 5:47 pm> so i been readn ur book ryt?  
Yang 5:47 pm> and im n et

Blake 5:50 pm> What? No you are not.

Yang 5:51 pm> i totes am!  
Yang 5:52 pm> The discription for teh main biker chic is totes me!

Blake 5:54 pm> You mean Barbara?

Yang 5:55 pm> Yeah her  
Yang 5:56 pm> she totaly me!

Blake 5:58 pm> No Yang, she isn’t

Yang 5:59 pm> fine  
Yang 5:59 pm> she meh if I had awsome tats

Blake 6:02 pm> Yang…

Yang 6:04 pm> just u wait, imma gon get a sweet ass jacket n start callin u kitten!

Blake 6:05 pm> No  
Blake 6:05 pm> Absolutely not.

Yang 6:07 pm> iz gonna happen  
Yang 6:07 pm> I bet ur fans would agree wit me  
Yang 6:08 pm> n fact  
Yang 6:08 pm> imma go c whut Pyrrha thinks!

Blake 6:09 pm> Yang don’t.  
Blake 6:11 pm> Yang I swear to Oum, don’t you dare.

Yang 6:21 pm> PYRRHA AGREES!!!  
Yang 6:22 pm> we r totes looking @ leather jakets RN  
Yang 6:28 pm> bought 1!  
Yang 6:28 pm> it be here n time 4 ur book event!  
Yang 6:33 pm> blake?  
Yang 6:35 pm> r u mad @ me?

Blake 6:40 pm> No, I’m livid.

Yang 6:41 pm> awww dont bee lyk that  
Yang 6:49 pm> u know u r pretty cute when ur angry  
Yang 6:49 pm> just sayin  
Yang 6:54 pm> ok ok  
Yang 6:54 pm> im sorry  
Yang 6:55 pm> I wont call u kitten  
Yang 6:55 pm> promise  
Yang 7:05 pm> ur still angry huh….  
Yang 7:06 pm> k ill shut up now

**\---Tuesday, 4 days before book signing---**

Blake 8:18 am> I’m sorry Yang.

Yang 8:20 am> ???  
Yang 8:20 am> 4 wut?

Blake 8:22 am> for getting upset with you the other day.

Yang 8:23 am> yeah?

Blake 8:25 am> Yes, I apologise.  
Blake 8:26 am> Even though Ivory Fang was my first published book, I had been working on it for several years prior to having it looked at by a publisher. So I guess I kind of got defensive about it for whatever reason.

Yang 8:29 am> its all gud blakey!  
Yang 8:30 am> water under teh bridge n all that

Blake 8:33 am> No it’s not okay. I shouldn’t of acted the way I did. I had ended up speaking with Weiss yesterday to go over some last minute things and it somehow came up. Apparently ever since you and I have been outed as ‘girlfriends’ there are actually lots of people who think I modeled Barbara after you.

Yang 8:38 am> oh good  
Yang 8:39 am> its not just me than  
Yang 8:41 am> does this mean im allowed 2 wear teh leather jacket?

Blake 8:44 am> If you must, I won’t stop you.

Yang 8:45 am> w00t!  
Yang 8:45 am> im gonna look so dope!  
Yang 8:46 am> also also  
Yang 8:47 am> can i finish redin ur book 2?

Blake 8:49 am> I wasn’t aware that you had stopped?

Yang 8:51 am> well yeah  
Yang 8:52 am> u got mad @ me so I stoped  
Yang 8:53 am> but now u arnt mad so i can continue reading quilt free!  
Yang 8:55 am> I’ll hav u know i was foaming @ teh mouth i wanted 2 read it SO BAD!

Blake 8:58 am> Oh really now?

Yang 8:59 am> oh yeah  
Yang 8:59 am> is hella good  
Yang 8:59 am> <3

Blake 9:02 am> hmmm… So who’s your favorite character then?

Yang 9:03 am> u meen other than barb?

Blake 9:05 am> Yes, other then Barbara.

Yang 9:08 am> Arryn  
Yang 9:08 am> ;)

Blake 9:10 am> Really now? What makes you say that?

Yang 9:11 am> oh u know  
Yang 9:12 am> dad gets taken and she all ‘f u all gibe him back’  
Yang 9:13 am> she just want him saf n i totes respect that  
Yang 9:13 am> PLUS  
Yang 9:15 am> i bet shell have badass barb wrapped around her pinky finger by end of book.

Blake 9:18 am> Whatever gave you that idea?

Yang 9:19 am> SILENCE U  
Yang 9:19 am> I know u know wat hapens  
Yang 9:20 am> u wrote dis after all  
Yang 9:20 am> SO NO SPOILERZ

Blake 9:23 am> My lips are sealed.

Yang 9:24 am> gud, <3

**\---Thursday, 1 day before the book signing---**

Yang 10:48 pm> r u ready 4 tmrw?

Blake 10:52 pm> No.

Yang 10:53 pm> D:  
Yang 10:53 pm> ur not supose 2 say that!!!

Blake 10:55 pm> What am I supposed to say then Yang?

Yang 10:56 pm> ur suppose to b lyk, ‘F YEAH I GOT DIS!’

Blake 10:59 pm> No.

Yang 11:00 pm> -___-  
Yang 11:03 pm> What wrong blakey?

Blake 11:08 pm> I’m nervous.

Yang 11:09 pm> i gets that  
Yang 11:10 pm> wut else?

Blake 11:16 pm> I feel sick to my stomach just thinking of how many people are going to be there.

Yang 11:17 pm> i c  
Yang 11:18 pm> it wil be fine blake  
Yang 11:19 pm> remember wiess will has secruity  
Yang 11:20 pm> and peeps will come up 1 @ a time  
Yang 11:20 pm> and me! I bee ther close by  
Yang 11:21 pm> u got this babe!

Blake 11:23 pm> Babe?

Yang 11:24 pm> yup  
Yang 11:24 pm> just getin head start on ‘girlfriend’ mode

Blake 11:27 pm> That is not helping.

Yang 11:28 pm> wut now?

Blake 11:33 pm> You reminding me that not only will there be lots of people, but also you and I will have to pretend to be girlfriends in front of all of them.

Yang 11:34 pm> we did it @icequeens place. This not teh same?

Blake 11:39 pm> This is very different Yang. People will be there. People with cameras and questions and possibly even the press as well.

Yang 11:40 pm> Blake breathe.  
Yang 11:40 pm> it will b fine.  
Yang 11:41 pm> we will hold hands and look like 2 dorks n wuv.  
Yang 11:42 pm> like jaune and pyrrha! It’ll b ezpz

Blake 11:45 pm> I still feel nervous.

Yang 11:47 pm> wat if i send u cat videos?

Blake 11:49 pm> Yang, please tell me that wasn’t a racist comment.

Yang 11:50 pm> NO  
Yang 11:50 pm> IT WASNT!  
Yang 11:51 pm> I watch them cuz thy r cute AF  
Yang 11:52 pm> _-link sent-_

Blake 11:54 pm> Okay...  
Blake 11:55 pm> That is pretty adorable.

Yang 11:56 pm> IKR?  
Yang 11:58 pm> I got mor if u wants

Blake 11:59 pm> …  
Blake 12:01 am> Sure.

Yang 12:02 am> ^_____________^  
Yang 12:05 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:07 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:11 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:13 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:14 am> i wont stop till u say so  
Yang 12:18 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:21 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:22 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:23 am> feel better yet?  
Yang 12:25 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:27 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:30 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:32 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:38 am> _-link sent-_  
Yang 12:39 am> how bout now?

Blake 12:40 am> Yes actually. Thank you Yang.

Yang 12:42 am> Anytime!  
Yang 12:42 am> <3  
Yang 12:58 am> kk last 1 i swars  
Yang 12:59 am> _-link sent-_

Blake 1:05 am> You’re a goofball.

Yang 1:06 am> i try :3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My eyes… THEY _BLEED!!!!_ Blake honey, please... For the love of all things holy in this glorious ship, PLEASE TEACH YANG PROPER ENGLISH AND TEXTING SKILLS!!! 
> 
> Now that that’s said, I’m going to go see about ordering me a pair of sweet Maria eyeballs to replace my burnt out ones. And maybe even a giant stick to beat TuxedoBird with because during editing, they made some of Yang’s texts WORSE! ((So it’s really their fault that all of our eyes are hurting after reading this chapter. Just saying...))


	13. The First Test

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake's first scheduled book signing is here! Time to see how it goes.

Blake sat curled up on her couch, knees pulled up all the way to her chin as she tried to take deep even breaths. Waking up to a panic attack was not how she had planned on starting her day. But she had no choice as she was brutally woken by her own screaming before her alarm clock had the chance to do its one job.

She had found sleep shortly after re-watching the last cat video Yang had sent her last night, which was fittingly of an adorable kitten kneading a stuffed teddy bear until it promptly passed out. Later, Blake wasn’t sure just how long, she had started to be plagued by nightmares. They all featured her being stabbed over and over again while unseen faces just smiled cruelly down at her as she bled out on the floor in a crumpled heap. She woke up abruptly with a blood curdling scream escaping her lungs. Of course at that point attempting to sleep became impossible so Blake curled into her bed sheets, sobbing for a long while until she decided to reach for her scroll with shaking hands.

For the life of her Blake didn’t know why she had called Yang, but the blonde had picked up on the third ring. She remembered how Yang’s sleep addled voice became awake and alert the moment Blake mentioned she had a nightmare while letting out a choked sob. Yang had immediately ushered assurances to the frightened woman before declaring that she was getting dressed and would be coming over. The fact that it was 5:30 in the morning meant nothing to the blonde.

So now Blake was waiting for Yang to arrive to prove to the faunus that the monsters weren’t real, as she teetered on the edge of another panic attack the entire time.

\---

Yang was so nervous as she tried to focus on not speeding _too_ much as she drove Pyrrha’s car to Blake's house. After hearing her terrified voice Yang knew it was bad and quickly stuffed herself into the clothes she had thankfully picked out the day before. With barely one leg in her jeans and only one sock on, Yang had banged on Pyrrha’s door saying she needed to borrow the car with the briefest of explanations. At first Pyrrha had offered to join Yang, but the blonde had quickly turned her down with the excuse that Blake might not be comfortable with more people. Causing her friend to reluctantly agreed to as she tossed Yang her keys.

At least she didn’t work for the next several days, as Pyrrha had requested time off in order to attend Blake’s book signing both today and tomorrow. Granted Yang still felt terrible having to wake her friend up at the ass-crack of dawn to borrow her car, but Blake needed her.

The sky was still dark as she pulled up to Blake's home in a spray of gravel and dust, hopping out of the vehicle the moment it was in park and turned off. Jogging up to the front door Yang paused with her hand held halfway up to knock before convincing herself to take a deep breath. _‘Cause if you don’t calm down Yang, you’re just gonna make things worse…’_ She mentally chided herself as she gently knocked on the front door with a deep exhale.

Instantly the door flew open to the sight of Blake with her eyes red and puffy from crying which tugged terribly at Yang’s heartstrings. The moment her golden eyes focused on Yang, Blake let out a choked sob. “I-I’m so-sorry…” Her voice sounded so small as fresh tears started to roll down her already tear stained cheeks.

Yang couldn’t help it as she instantly pulled Blake into a hug. “Oh Blake, it’s not your fault… You’re okay, you’re fine…” She repeated as she allowed the faunus to cling to her leather jacket and cry into her shoulder for a few minutes as Yang eased the two of them into the foyer. When Blake's crying started to subside Yang had gently led them into the living room and sat them both onto the couch. A task made more difficult as Blake wouldn't let go, still clinging to her as if she were a lifeline, but the blonde only hummed softly the entire time. She hummed various tunes that vaguely sounded like lullabies for what seemed like hours, until the faunus had finally passed out on her shoulder.

Slowly, Yang woke up to the feeling of a kink in her neck and her bladder screaming at her. She couldn’t remember when she herself had nodded off, but she could see the pinking of morning light filter through the living room windows. She started to stretch but stopped as something heavy and warm moved on her lap. Startled, she looked down but Yang instantly had a smile spread onto her lips as she noticed that Blake had somehow moved to lay curled up on her right side, her head resting in Yangs lap in a sea of dark hair.

_‘It should be illegal for someone to be this attractive in their sleep…’_ Yang gave the sleeping woman an affectionate look as she softly brushed a strand of Blake's dark hair behind her human ear. The action caused one her faunus ears to twitch adorably, lightly battering against Yangs left hand like a soft series of slaps. For a second Yang contemplated on touching the fuzzy appendage to better feel how soft they undoubtedly were before balling her hand into a fist to stop herself. It would probably be a better idea to ask Blake for permission first.

Of Course though, Yang’s body took that moment to remind her why it had woken her up in the first place causing Yang to stifle a groan.

_‘Stupid bodily functions…’_ She mentally grumbled as she extracted herself from the still sleeping woman with painstaking care. Not only did Blake look adorable laying in Yang’s lap, the poor woman still looked utterly exhausted with dark circles under her eyes and dried tear tracks along her cheeks. So Yang made the extra effort to not wake her.

Once free, Yang felt a bit guilty just leaving her there. Seeing no blankets in sight she quietly took off her jacket and covered Blake with it. The faunus immediately nuzzled into the collar, which Yang couldn’t help but melt at the sight of, before beginning her hunt for the bathroom.

Doing her best to keep things as quiet as possible, after all Yang wasn’t sure just _how_ much sleep Blake had gotten the night before, she re-emerged from the bathroom just as a familiar foreboding ringtone started to sound from somewhere deeper within the house.

Yang raised her brow at the sound. _‘That’s… Is that Weiss? Or does Blake have the same ringtone for everyone…’_ Taking a quick glance to see if Blake was still curled up on the couch, Yang decided to leave her be as she frantically hunted down the device before it woke her. She found it on a nightstand in what was undoubtedly Blake's bedroom and immediately hit the answer button. “ _Yel-low_ , who’s this?” She greeted while keeping her voice to a half-whisper.

_“_ Yang _? Why are you answering Blake's scroll?”_ At the sound of Weiss’s confused voice Yang relaxed her shoulders in relief.

For a brief moment, Yang had feared that she would be answering Blake's scroll to a complete stranger and would have to make up some excuse on the faunus’s behalf. Even though the writer had met Yang’s friends, the blonde hadn’t met any of Blake's. That is to say if she _had_ any friends, she hasn’t really talked much about the subject. Well, unless of course Weiss counted as Blake's friend... Were those two even friends?

Shaking the train of thought away, Yang realized she had a bigger problem as she continued to just stand in Blake's bedroom awkwardly. _‘But what should I do? If I take the conversation elsewhere I risk the chance of waking Blake up. But if she wakes up while I’m talking with Weiss, she might get upset that I answered her scroll or accuse me of snooping through her stuff…’_

_“Yang, are you still there?”_ The sound of Weiss’s voice snapped Yang out of her thoughts, leaving the blonde to quickly decide that she’ll just have to risk Blake's wrath.

“Y-yeah, sorry. Just trying to keep things quiet because Blake’s still asleep. What’s up?”

There was a moment of silence on the other line that lasted long enough for Yang to check the scroll to see if Weiss had disconnected or not.

_“Yang… How is Blake doing? And please, be honest with me.”_

Yang rubbed at her face and made a deep sigh. She was half tempted to lie and give some excuse on Blakes behalf, but something in her gut told her that Weiss wouldn’t buy it. Her tone telling the blonde she knew something was wrong without even being told what had happened yet. So edging on the side of caution Yang decided on giving an honest answer. “Well, you know Blake. She says she’s fine, but yesterday she was telling me how nervous she wa-”

_“She had a nightmare didn’t she.”_ Weiss interrupted, and judging by her tone, it wasn’t a question.

Yang sighed again as she looked to Blake's king sized bed with it’s disheveled blankets and tossed pillows. The sight reminding her of the state of her own bedding after a rough night. “Yeah, a pretty bad one.”

Weiss gave a frustrated sigh before she continued. _“Sorry, I know Blake is usually up at an early hour, so I was calling to double check with her_ one last time _to be sure if she wanted to go through with today’s book signing. Granted, a last minute cancellation would be devastating to her reputation seeing as this is her first book signing since she was stabbed. But-”_ Yang instantly tuned out the remainder of what Weiss was saying as she felt herself stop breathing. Her mind focusing with a single minded fixation on that one word.

_‘Stabbed? Blake was_ stabbed _? When? Who?! Where...’_ She wanted to demand answers from Weiss as she instantly felt her anger flare at the thought of someone hurting Blake. The only thing that stopped her was thinking that this was something she might have known already if she was _really_ dating Blake. Granted Yang felt like as a friend she should have known anyway but had to curb stomp her sudden feeling of betrayal. It’s not like she herself was very forthcoming with details about her arm... But that was something to worry about later.

Right now, with her anger boiling in her veins Yang was more worried about lashing out at Weiss who honestly didn’t deserve her wrath. She was just the messenger after all, even if she was unknowing in that fact. Yang balled her prosthetic hand into a fist so tight her pressure sensors danced up her bicep in sharp jolts of pain, distracting her from her fury long enough to catch Weiss’s next words.

_“-I’ll call the client and let them know we are canceling the event.”_ Yang took a sharp intake of air and made the conscious effort to unclench her fist, her anger could wait.

“Hold on just a second Weiss, look… Don’t cancel anything just yet. The event isn’t until noon right?” Yang could still hear a fraction of her rage seep into her tone unbidden as her mind worked a mile a minute trying to formulate a plane. She heard Weiss confirm the time as she pulled out her own scroll from her pants pocket to see that it was just barely past eight in the morning. “Okay… Okay I’m going to let Blake sleep for another hour because she _needs_ it. After that, I’ll talk with her and confirm what _she_ wants to do okay? I don’t think it would a good idea for you and I to be making any decisions for her without her being able to put in her two cents. But I’ll let you know whatever her answer is no later than ten, would that work?”

There was a short pause before Weiss spoke again. _“It would be cutting it a little too close for my liking, but I can work with that.”_ There was another sigh from Weiss. _“I guess I’ll just have to wait until I hear back from you two then. But if she decides not to go through with it,_ please _let her know that there will be no hard feelings. Yes there will undoubtedly be people who will be disappointed, both clients and participants alike, but to hell with them. Blake is not only my client but my_ friend _, and I’ll be_ damned _if I allow her to ever be hurt like that ever again.”_ There was a certain edge to Weiss’s tone that Yang respected as she silently nodded.

“Yeah… That makes two of us.”

\---

The first thing Blake noticed was that she was wrapped up in something warm and felt comfortable. The second thing was that she could hear someone moving about in her kitchen.

She stretched languidly before raising up on one arm, rubbing at her eyes with the other and letting out an audible yawn. She didn’t remember falling asleep, the last thing she remembered was…

“Hey there sleepy head, did you enjoy your nap?” Came Yang’s voice from the direction of her kitchen.

_‘Right, I called her after my nightmare, and she came over…’_ Blake thought as she let out another jaw cracking yawn.

“That good huh?” Blake could hear the amusement in Yang’s voice. “Well I’m glad you’re up, I was just about to wake you. I hope you don’t mind but I raided your kitchen to make some breakfast for you if you’re hungry.”

Blake felt her ears perk up at the mention of food and sat up straighter, feeling something slide off her shoulders in the process. Blinking curiously, she noticed that it was a leather jacket, no doubt belonging to Yang. She must have draped it over Blake when she had passed out. Wait… Did she fall asleep on Yang? Blake couldn’t really remember as she picked up the jacket and neatly laid it on the back of the couch before venturing to her kitchen table. No sooner had she sat down with a tired thump into the chair, Yang came over with a plate of food.

“ _Viola_ , I present the lady of the house oven toasted bread slices with a seasoned avocado spread and soft boiled eggs. _Bon appetit_!” Yang said with enthusiasm as she set the food down in front of Blake.

While the food did look tasty, Blake couldn’t help but try and rack her brain thinking of where in the world Yang had found the avocado, or the eggs for that matter. Granted, it’s very possible she had them hidden somewhere in the depths of her refrigerator and she had just forgotten about them. After taking the first bite of her food though Blake thought that no matter what her original purpose for purchasing them were, Yang had made better use of them.

“By the way…” Yang started to say as she opened one of the cupboards back in the kitchen. “I had planned on making you some tea as well. But damn Blake, you have like, a _whole friggin tea shop_ in here! I don’t even know what _‘aroma infusion jasmine’_ is supposed to taste like... Any suggestions?” At this point Blake knew that Yang was trying to cheer her up. Honestly, it was working as she couldn’t help but smile as she watched Yang stare into her tea cupboard with a perplexed expression. And to be fair, Blake admittedly did have a rather _large_ selection of tea...

After breakfast was devoured and an absurd amount of mint green tea was consumed, Blake was feeling much better. Granted the lingering anxiety and fears from her nightmare were still there, but Blake at least felt more in control over herself.

“So… While you were busy cat napping, Weiss tried to call you by the way.” Yang said slowly as she filled the dishwasher with the remnants of breakfast.

Blake couldn’t help her sigh as she had a haunch of what it was her publisher had wanted to talk to her about. “I’ll have to call her back then.” She could feel her ears droop slightly as she prepared to stand.

“I already talked to her.” Yang had said it so matter of factly that it made Blake pause and look at her. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you cause you were still passed out and everything. How much sleep did you get last night anyway?” At first Blake wanted to be annoyed at Yang, but the blondes tone was thick with worry.

_‘After all, I was the one who called her like a terrified child scared of their own shadow. I can’t be mad at her because she dropped everything to rush over here to make sure I was alright and proceeded to look out for my well being…’_ Blake sighed as she was now annoyed at herself. “Not much. Maybe an hour or two.”

Yang instantly grimaced. “ _Oof_ , that’s rough... Anyway, Weiss was wanting to know if you were still up for doing the book signing- _thingamajig_ today and tomorrow. She also _specifically_ told me to tell you that if you don’t want to or don’t feel ready, she would understand.”

That did sound like something Weiss would say as Blake let out another sigh and shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I have to be. After all, Weiss went and spent a lot of time and effort into organizing these events herself, even though she has people for that. If I cancel, I’ll just be throwing all her hard work out the window and be wasting her time. I’ll call her and let her know I’m okay.” This time when she stood, Yang actually walked over to her and gently put her hands on Blake's shoulders causing her to look at her confusedly.

“Blake wait… Just one more thing, I uh, just wanted to know…” Yang took a moment to let out a deep exhale while Blake waited, her confusion now causing her to furrowed her brow. Yang took another deep breath before fixing her lilac eyes at the writer with a concerned expression. “Your ochlophobia, did you develop it _after_ you were stabbed?”

The faunus went rigid as stone, her ears flattening against her scalp as Blake gaped in horror at her friend. She wanted to ask how she had found out, to demand who told her, but all that came out was a weak and terrified, “ _How_ ….”

Yang inhaled again before offering Blake an apologetic look. “Weiss said, and I quote, ‘ _this is her first book signing since she was stabbed._ ’ Now, I don’t want specifics Blake. _Believe me_ , I know how hard it is to talk about this kind of stuff.” At this, Yang moved her right hand in between them where Blake watched her clench the brightly colored fingers into a tight fist. She held it like that for a second before raising it as if to stroke the faunus’s cheek, but moved it back to her shoulder instead. “Just a simple yes, or no Blake. That’s _all_ I want to know…” Her tone was so soft as it was paired with the pleading look in her lilac eyes.

Feeling herself begin to tremble, Blake quickly nodded in stiff jerky motions as she blinked back tears. “And do you still want to do the book signing?” Yang asked in an even softer tone as she gently squeezed Blake's shoulders. She gave Yang another stiff nod accompanied with a shaky intake of air. “Alright then... I tell you what Blake, it’s almost ten so why don’t you go do what you need to in order to get ready, and I’ll call Weiss and let her know, okay?”

“...Okay…” Oum did Blake hate sounding like she was about to cry. Yang gave her an encouraging smile as she nodded one last time.

“But first, could you do something for me?” Yang removed her hands from Blake's shoulders to hold them outstretched on either side. As Blake gave her a questioning look Yang gave her a small reassuring smile in return. “Can I get a hug?”

“... A hug?” The writer was sure she had a look of bewilderment on her face at Yangs simple yet bizarre request.

“Yup.” She said cheerfully letting the ‘p’ pop. “You look like you need a hug. And if not, then I could certainly use one. So bring it on in Blakey, I promise I don’t bite.”

Blake only took a second to make up her mind as she walked the single step it took into Yang’s awaiting arms. At first she felt a bit awkward as she wrapped her arms around the blondes solid frame but quickly melted as Yang wrapped her own arms around Blake's shoulders and upper back. Yang was right, Blake _really_ did need a hug as the writer buried her face into Yang’s shoulder which smelt pleasantly of warm vanilla. When was the last time she received a hug? Too long honestly… She enjoyed the feeling of warmth for a moment longer before slowly letting go of Yangs torso.

“Better?” Yang asked quietly as Blake felt her breath ghost over her cat ears before they parted from each other fully. Blake only nodded to the question. “Good. Now as pretty as you are looking like a hot mess, you should go pamper yourself with a shower. I’ll finish the dishes and then call Weiss okay?”

“Thank you…” Blake tried not to think too much on Yang’s comment as she subconsciously rubbed at her cheeks with her sleeve in effort to hide her sudden blush.

“Anytime kitten.” Blake heard Yang say as she turned to go down the hallway. 

\---

“So as you can see, we’ll be setting up the main area over here. That way the line will form around the corner over here and along the back wall to help keep the participants of the event from getting in the way of any other patrons. More importantly, this will also keep fewer people in sight of the table and prevent crowding. Other then that, the floor manager has assured me that the two of you are allowed to use the staff room which is just back that way if either one of you need to take a break. Granted, the event is only until two, since I know you just being here Blake is already difficult enough as is so I didn’t want this event to drag on any longer then what was considered necessary.” Weiss went on as she pointed to a few other areas, making comments about each and tapped a few notes on her small tablet.

Yang had to hand it to Weiss, she was able to get things done quickly _and_ efficiently all the while being able to rock a light blue pants suit in heels. The publisher commanding a small crew of employees and Weiss’s own hired staff as they went about setting up a table neatly stacked with copies of Blake’s books, including a roped off section where people will form a queue.

They were at one of the largest bookstores Yang had ever been in at the big mall near downtown Vale, Stables and Kings, which was hosting the two day event. Granted where Yang stood she could already see several dozen people standing in line behind the velvet red rope with hopeful smiles and holding various items likely to have signed. And the event wasn’t supposed to start for another forty five minutes.

She did her best to put herself between the people and Blake's line of sight though, which made Yang feel more like a bodyguard of sorts instead of the girlfriend she was pretending to be. But she couldn’t help it. She knew her outfit, which was a simple pair of dark jeans, a white t-shirt, combat boots and her new leather jacket didn’t help with the imagery, but it was too late to change clothes now. At least wearing a glove over her right hand was a good call. She felt strange for only wearing the one, but Yang didn’t feel self conscious about her artificial limb being on display as the glove kept it hidden.

The only thing Yang was self conscious of however was how Blake was setting off the pressure sensors in her right hand, she was holding on so tightly. If it wasn’t for that, Yang would’ve thought Blake was holding up just fine as she occasionally nodded or answered one of Weiss’s questions in an even sounding tone.

_‘Note to self: Never challenge Blake to a poker game.’_ Yang thought as she tried not to wince again as the sensors in her arm screamed at her once more. Under normal circumstances the sensors helped Yang determine how hard or how lightly she was holding something. Like a wine glass versus a tennis ball for instance. The sensors however would stop sending signals after a few seconds to prevent any ongoing discomfort like what Yang was currently feeling. But Blake kept alternating how tightly she gripped Yang’s metal hand and unknowingly renewed the sensory mechanisms. Yang made another mental note to tell Blake about her still being able to feel pressure with the prosthetic as she again tried not to wince as another jolt went to her bicep.

“So that just about covers everything currently. Did either one of you have any questions?” Weiss asked as she looked up from her tablet and looking expectantly at the two of them.

When Blake made no comment Yang searched for something to ask, if only to distract herself. “Uh… Yeah, where do you want me during all of this?” She silently hoped it wasn’t something they had gone over already.

Thankfully Weiss didn’t look annoyed by the question as she nodded in Blakess direction. “I actually will be leaving that up to Blake.” Weiss took one quick glance at her dainty wrist watch before fixing them both with a small smile. “Well, I’ll leave you two be while I go and oversee what remains of the set up. I’ll come find you around five minutes till okay?” With a nod from both Yang and Blake, the publisher walked off, surprisingly sounding like a drill Sergeant making rounds with how loudly her heels clacked against the carpeted floors.

Once she was out of ear shot, Yang gently nudged Blakes shoulder with her own. “Hey, why don’t we go sit down for a bit?” Blake only gave her a forced smile and a nod before allowing herself to be led by the blonde to where the staff lounge was located.

The room itself wasn’t very big, but it was comfortable enough. On one side there was a well used looking loveseat accompanied by a small coffee table with a square dining table and a set of chairs. On the other side was a small counter that had a sink, some cupboards and a refrigerator with a tiny TV sitting on top that was currently off. Most importantly, the space was empty of any staff as she lead Blake over to the loveseat and indicated for her to sit down while she herself sat on the coffee table directly in front of the dark haired woman.

“How you doing Blake?” With downcast eyes, the writer squeezed Yangs prosthetic hand harder with her ears pinned back as her answer. “Yeah I guessed as much…” Yang said with a grimace as once again her pressure sensors sent her a not-so-helpful reminder that they work. To distract herself, Yang looked around the tiny room for a moment before nodding.

“Alright Blakey, we’re gonna do things a bit differently okay?” She said as she reached for Blake’s other hand. Yang held both of the writers hands in between them as she waited for Blake to meet her gaze, giving her a small reassuring smile once she did. “I want you to take a deep breath while I count to three, okay. Could you do that for me please?”

Yang waited as Blake closed her eyes and just took in a few uneven breaths on her own. Her posture slouched with her chin nearly tucked into the top of her loose turtleneck for a moment before she nodded. “Whenever you’re ready.” Yang said quietly before Blake sat up a bit straighter and took in a deep shaky breath and waited for Yang to count to three before exhaling roughly. “There you go, and again…” Yang had her repeat the action several times until the writer was breathing more evenly and her death grip loosened on Yang’s hands.

“Doing good Blake.” Though Blake still had her eyes closed Yang gave her a smile. “Okay, can you tell me how many chairs there are in here?”

Finally opening her eyes and blinking a few times, Yang watched as golden eyes looked over to the side of the room with the table. “Three.” Blake's voice was quiet, but steady. A good sign considering there wasn’t much in the way of items Yang could use for the exercise.

“How about outlets? How many can you see?”

There was a longer pause as Blake scanned the room several times. “Five.”

“And how many clocks are there?”

“Two.” Blake said instantly which caused Yang to turn around to double check as she only saw the big one above the table. “There is a clock on the coffee machine by the sink.” Blake answered Yang’s questioning look with a shy smile.

“Ah, how sneaky of you…” Yang said with a quiet laugh. “How you doing now Blake?”

When she didn’t immediately answer, Yang gave her hands a light squeeze. “Better, but… It’s going to sound so stupid…” She said with a downcast look, her ears slightly drooped. Yang just waited with an encouraging smile. “I could use a hug…” Blake finally said with a voice so quiet Yang only heard her because of their proximity.

Yang couldn’t help her smile widening in answer as she stood, still holding onto Blakes hands. “Oh yeah? Well lucky for you Blake, I happen to have lots of hugs to give.” She gently tugged on the faunus’s hands who easily stood at the prompt.

Unlike their previous hug, Blake had no hesitation this time as she wrapped her arms around Yangs middle, causing the blonde to become inexplicably happy for some reason as she wrapped her own arms around Blake's shoulders. _‘Oh shut it Yang, you know_ exactly _why. You have a cute girl giving you affection, even if it’s_ supposed _to be platonic.’_ Yang sighed as she remembered the lengthy discussion Pyrrha had with her Saturday evening after they made it back home from their outing with Blake.

It seemed like each time Yang tried to be strictly friendly with Blake, her little gay heart would have other ideas as her feelings grew, almost as if in retaliation. This of course was something Pyrrha was able to see from _miles_ _away_ as she tried to warn Yang against pushing her luck.

_‘Whatever, I’ll worry about Pyrrha later. I miss giving hugs like this…’_ Yang thought as she closed her eyes. She could smell the faunus’s shampoo, vaguely smelling of mint and something else she couldn’t decipher before gently tightening her hold for a second then allowing her arms to fall away from Blake's shoulders. Blake however tightened her hold around Yang’s torso and buried her face in her shoulder. The action was so adorable that Yang couldn’t help the chuckle that bubbled up from her chest.

“Hey Blake… Everything will be fine. Besides, Pyrrha and Jaune said that they’ll swing by around one to come see you like the nerds that they are okay?” She quietly reassured, consciously aware of how close Blake's faunus ears were to her mouth as they twitched occasionally. She felt Blake nod into her shoulder as Yang rubbed at her upper arms reassuringly before a familiar pair of heels sounded from the hallway.

“I hate to interrupt but it’s tim- Oh!” Weiss sure was quick in those heels as she practically rounded the corner before Yang or Blake had time to react.

It was comical the way that Blake shot away from Yang, her face flushed a deep red in embarrassment. Though when she had taken a step back from Yang, presumably to put distance between them, Blake had failed to remember that there was a loveseat behind her and ended up falling against the cushions in a heap instead. Yang couldn’t help it as she barked out a laugh at the sight.

“I’ll wait for you two out on the floor…” Weiss quietly commented as she promptly turned and walked away. It only caused Yang to laugh a bit more as she suddenly realized what both the scene and Blakes reaction must have looked like to the publisher before offering a hand to the other woman.

“She _totally_ thinks we were making out.” She couldn’t help but share her insight, she wanted to see if Blake could get any redder. The answer was yes, she could as she now looked like a bright tomato as her ears drooped to the sides and doing her best to not meet Yang’s eyes as she stood.

“Let’s-let’s just go…” Blake said instead, her voice thick with embarrassment.

\---

Over all, the event went well. One of Weiss’s hired staff stood near the head of the line like a bouncer, though much more friendly, and helped funnel people one at a time up to Blakes table. Yang had ended up standing with Weiss off to the side for a majority of the event. From where Yang stood she could occasionally hear the excited story some fan would share as Blake signed their book. The writer doing her best to look interested in some, others she genuinely smiled or laughed along with.

Yang was glad that things were going well though she quickly found herself growing bored. That is until Pyrrha and Jaune had made their promised appearances, then they stood with her. Of course that was after Pyrrha had gotten one of her books signed as a ‘show of support’ she claimed. Yang told her she did it cause she’s a nerd. Of course this led to a smack to the shoulder.

There was a bit of confusion on Weiss’s face after introductions were made. The expression practically being molded to her features the entire time Pyrrha and Jaune talked with them. Well, mostly Yang as Weiss made little attempt at partaking in the idle conversation, seeing as she was far to professional to relax in her duties. However Pyrrha’s parting comment about seeing Yang at home later had Weiss turn to the blonde once the lovebirds were out of ear shot.

“Wait, you and Blake don’t live together?” She had asked in a hushed voice.

“No, why?” Yang answered without realizing just what Weiss was asking. When she did however Yang tried not to visibly panic.

Weiss thankfully wasn’t looking at her, rather then something against the far wall as she furrowed her brow in thought. “Sorry, it’s just that, I thought that since you two have been dating for so long, that you would have been living together by now.” She admitted quietly so that their conversation wasn’t overheard.

The publishers admission gave Yang enough time to formulate an answer. “Yeah well, I’ve been in relationships before where things went south the moment we moved in together. I guess you can say I didn’t want that happening with Blake.” Yang said honestly as she thought back to a few of her relationships that had happened to. Though thinking more she couldn’t help a smile forming as she winked at Weiss. “Plus, it made it easier to hide from you.”

Weiss gave an unladylike scoff and rolled her eyes at Yang, but thankfully she seemed to buy the answer and didn’t speak further on the matter. Actually the two of them really didn’t speak to each other at all afterwards, not until the event was finally over as the clock struck two. Weiss was the one to deliver the bad news to those who were still waiting in line, but assured them that they were welcome to come back tomorrow as Yang finally made her way over to Blake.

“How you holding up?” Yang asked as she knelt besides Blake's chair.

She looked tired but her smile, though small, was honest. “Could be better, but good.” Yang gave her a nod and stood, reaching out with her left to help Blake stand herself though she doubted she needed the help. Well she had to keep up the supportive girlfriend appearance _somehow_ she reasoned.

“So, you down to give it another go tomorrow babe?” Yang asked quietly as she squeezed Blake's hand slightly as she stood from the table.

“Yeah… But tomorrow I would rather you sat with me. _I mean_ if- _if_ that’s alright. Knowing you were nearby helped but…” As Blake trailed off as she worried at her lower lip. Yang gave her a smile before scooping her up in a loose hug.

“Sure thing. I’m here for you Blake, whatever you need.” As Blake quickly returned the hug for a second before letting go, Yang hoped that the faunus heard the sincerity in her voice as she meant every word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m still giggling about how Weiss thought she had walked in on our bees kissing… Oh my sweet, sweet tsundere snowflake... Not yet you haven’t. >:3
> 
> I also couldn't help but go just a smiggin in depth regarding Yang's arm and it's capabilities. So yes, it's just like the one we see in the show in it's design, just minus the 'it's also a gun' bit. But the sensory thing is a real thing in today's prosthetic and I thought it would be really cool to include. Cause TECHNOLOGY! Fascinating stuff I must say. 
> 
> **_IMPORTANT NOTICE_** : I won't be able to post next week as TuxedoBird and I, (mostly me since I'm in the writing dungeon) are a bit behind schedule. I have the next few chapters mostly done, but Tux and I fuss over the chapters during editing **so much** , that it takes forever to finally say 'okay done with this chapter lets feed it to the wolves'. So the next chapter wont be out until the 14th. So mark your calendars! But here's hoping the wait will be worth it cause I'm excited for the next few chapters! Spoiler: I added a new tag for 'dad jokes'. Pretty self explanatory what's in store for our bees. :D


	14. The Trip to Patch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yang gets an unexpected call and requests aid from Blake. But the writer realizes a little too late that she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

The second day of Blake’s book signing had went about the same as the first, just minus Blake calling Yang at the butt crack of dawn because of crippling nightmares. That and Yang had to help Blake through not one, but two separate grounding exercises that day. One before the event, and one nearly directly afterwards because the press had finally showed up like Blake thought they would.

Thankfully their questions were fairly routine, asking simple things like what did the writer think of the events turn out, questions about her next book, and few other questions Yang couldn't be bothered remembering. Yang was able to stay out of their direct line of interest though as she stood back and refused to let the reporter ask her questions. Seeing as this was Blake's event, Yang felt she shouldn't be in the spotlight. Or that's what she told herself. Truthfully she just didn't want to deal with them herself. Yet the whole ordeal with the press turned out to be a bit too much for Blake to handle all at once and allowed Yang to whisk her away shortly after they asked their last question.

With the first event now over and done with, Yang felt pretty confident that the next event, which was in two weeks, would go even smoother than the first. And, according to Weiss, it was also to be held in a much smaller venue which hopefully meant less people. Both Yang and Blake agreed that it should make things a bit easier on the writer's anxiety levels. Key word: _should_. But seeing how it was only Monday, Yang was already bored out of her mind.

She had somehow managed to wake up before noon, and after going through her workout routine not once, but twice, she couldn’t find anything to capture her attention. It was odd how just a handful of weeks ago Yang could have been entertained by just having the TV tuned to some random sitcom she had no real interest in so long as there was an abundance of salty snacks on hand and was allowed to lounge in her pj’s all day. Yet now she felt restless, like she should be doing something, _anything_ , but currently she had nowhere to be nor did she have anything that currently demanded her attention. Funny how all this changed after meeting a certain dark haired faunus.

So finding herself with little she could do in regards to entertainment, Yang mentally went through her options. She could text her friends buuut... She couldn’t bother Pyrrha, well she _could_ but the redhead was currently at work and had a habit of ignoring her phone until her scheduled breaks or lunches. Texting Jaune was also out of the question as he was now neck deep into his internship and couldn’t be contacted for anything short of a life threatening or family emergency.

That just left Blake in her small arsenal of friends Yang was willing to bother via texting.

In a rare show of restraint however, Yang had thought it best if she refrained from texting the dark haired woman for several reasons: One, because after they had went their separate ways on Saturday the faunus had looked so tired and strung out that Yang thought it best to leave her be for a while. And second, because each time she texted Blake, Yang would then find herself wearing a stupid grin for the rest of the day like the love struck puppy she is.

Yang felt only marginally guilty that Pyrrha’s reprimanding words of how she should focus on _just being friends_ weren’t quite sinking in like her friend had intended them to. She was trying, honestly. But Yang found it increasingly difficult to try and contain herself the closer she got to Blake.

So, being faced with no other options that meant she could both entertain herself _and_ behave, as Pyrrha would put it, Yang found herself doing something she'd never had done before to pass the time.

Reading.

Laying length wise on the couch with her copy of Ivory Fang held open above her face, Yang couldn’t help but enjoy herself. Honestly when she had first started reading the book, Yang just wanted to see what the hype was all about, and admittedly to have something to tease Blake with later. But Yang had found herself quickly pulled in by the characters, Barbara especially, and became more invested in the story with each page.

Besides, Yang just reached the part where Barbara finally agreed to let Arryn take her fathers place in order to pay off his debts. So things were bound to get _really_ interesting now.

_‘Arryn didn’t like the way the biker woman had leaned an arm against the doorframe. It was a seemingly casual gesture, sure, but Arryn had a gut feeling that it was_ deliberate _. It had to be._

_The way the blonde leaned on the doorframe with one elbow above her head allowed her leather jacket to pull open, revealing a hard working black sports bra in lieu of a shirt and more rose tattoos along her ribs that somehow added a measure of feminine softness to her otherwise solid abdominal muscles. Even the way the blonde cocked her hip drew Arryn’s attention along the rest of her robust frame. At how her biker jeans were so tight that they might as well have been painted on. And how all of the rips and tears along the legs were like bars to a cage keeping the shimmering scales of some kind of serpent tattooed underneath from getting loose._

_Arryn couldn’t stop her curiousness from wondering just how much ink was on this woman’s skin before she snapped her gaze back up to see the blonde grinning knowingly at her. She had been caught staring._

_“Like what you see, kitten?”’_

Just as Yang felt a goofy grin spread across her face at the thought of saying something like that to Blake, her scroll started to blast a ringtone consisting of obnoxious siren sounds on the coffee table. The sound caught her so off guard that it startled Yang into drooping the book onto her face.

“ACK! What th-Fuck, why is _he_ calling!?” She cried out as she gave her scroll a wild eyed look after pulling the book off her face. That ring tone only played when _he_ called… Why was he calling _now_ of all times? Shoving her bookmark in between the pages, she quickly scooped up the device and hit the answer button. “Sup old man?” She managed to say in a mostly neutral tone as she sat up.

_“Who you calling old? Just because both of my baby girls grew up doesn’t mean that_ I _have to.”_ Taiyangs voice replied with a smile to his tone.

Yang couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Yeah yeah, ‘ _age is just a number_ ’ and all that… Seriously though, what’s up pops?”

_“What? Can’t a father call his darling daughter once in a while to see how’s she’s doing?”_

“Maybe... But knowing you with _that_ tone, you want something. _Sooo_ ….” Yang let the unasked question hang open as she repositioned herself on the couch to lean against the armrest.

_“_ Ooohhh _, okay. I see how it is. Every time_ you _call, it’s on the rare occasion that you feel the need to finally let your poor old father know that you’re still alive. But when I call, I_ have _to have some ulterior motive behind my reasoning to call you.”_ Yang could imagine the theatrics her dad must be putting on for Zwei right about then. No doubt complete with wild hand gestures and exaggerated expressions as he most likely paced in the living room as she often seen him do in the past.

“Yup.” She said instead, letting the ‘p’ pop loudly as she leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling.

There was a moment of silence before Taiyang spoke again. _“Well, I’ll have you know Ruby will be coming home for spring break this Friday.”_

_‘Oh boy, here we go…’_ Yang thought as she rolled her eyes again. “ _Annnnddddd_ ….”

_“_ Aaannnd _I thought it would be a great idea to see if you could come home to visit so we could have the whole family together again for the week!”_ Yang let out a groan but her dad continued to speak over her in a excited manner. _“What it’ll be fun! You’ll be able to see your sister, I’ll have my girls back… And you can_ finally _introduce Ruby and I to your girlfriend.”_

“Wait _what_!!?” Yang couldn’t help but shout out as she instantly shot up straight on the couch.

_“Ah-_ HA _! That got your attention. Yeah, didn’t think I knew about that now did ya? By the way, when_ were _you going to tell your dear old dad about you dating again? When you two got married?”_ Any other time Yang would have found the sound of smug satisfaction from her father annoying, but right now all Yang could feel was the blood drain from her face.

“ _Married_?! Who- _DAD_! N-NO dad, Blake and I- We aren’t…” Yang sputtered before biting her tongue. She came dangerously close to blurting out that she and Blake weren’t dating just then.

_“_ Psh _, Don’t give me that. I hear You two have been dating for over three years! You two are practically married already at this point,_ just _saying.”_

Yang just groaned long and loud into the scroll’s receiver as she ran her free hand over her face. “ _DAAAaaaadddddd_ … Hoooow… _How_ did you find out?”

_“Well contrary to popular belief, your father in fact_ does not _live under a rock. You’re just lucky that Ruby was just as suprised as I was to learn that you’ve been dating an author. Because if you had told her and not me, like you’ve done_ before _, then I would have been really upset about the whole ‘not telling’ me thing.”_

“You told _Ruby_!?” Suddenly filled with nervous tension Yang shot up from the couch and started pacing within the living room. This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all… Her father finding out was one thing, but Ruby? “Dad… Look, Blake is really busy- She has a book signing in like, two weeks and I’m helping her out with that- I _mean_ I would love to see you and Ruby and Zwei too but, but… Look Blake and I are just really… _Really_ busy right now okay?”

There was another moment of silence that Yang had hoped against hope that her father didn’t push the subject. Just this once, that's all she wanted... But the moment she heard her dad give an exaggerated sniffle she should have known there are no Gods and she was doomed.

_“Oh, okay... I see how it is. Can’t spare the time to come visit your lonely father who only loves you and misses you…”_ His sorrowful tone made Yang pinch the bridge of her nose so hard she saw stars.

“No dad… Please, _pleaaaasse_ don’t be like this… Fin- _FINE_. Before you start giving me the water works I’ll… I’ll talk to Blake okay? If, and I mean a big fat _IF_ , she thinks we can spare the time, I’ll see if she’s up to visiting for the day for like dinner or something okay? Would that work?”

_“Excellent!”_ Taiyang beamed over the phone, Yang should have known that Tai had been playing her the whole time. _“let me know by tonight and I’ll get the two of you ferry tickets for Friday and make sure the spare room is clean so she can use it for the week. Love you!”_

“NO- Dad I said we’d visit for dinner not for a whole-” She heard the tell tale click of the call being disconnected. “-week… _FUCK_!” Yang couldn’t help but yell out a few more choice words as she tried calling her father back but to no avail.

What the hell was she going to do?

\---

What the hell was she doing?

Blake ran a hand through her dark hair as she double checked that she had everything ready and packed. Laptop, check. Charger, check for both laptop and scroll. Her manuscript notes, check. Clothes, both casual and nice, check. Books, check. Her sanity? Well that appeared to be missing at this precise moment, though she doubted she had any to begin with since she agreed to Yang’s insane request.

The blonde had called Blake in a panic Monday evening, explaining that her father had called her and _insisted_ that she bring her new girlfriend home for a week of quality family bonding time. Yang had sounded both frantic and apologetic on the scroll as she explained that she had tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn’t have any of it. So she had called Blake to see if she was okay with visiting her family for a week long endeavor, and if not Yang said she would think of some excuse on her behalf.

Yet against her better judgment, Blake had ended up agreeing to join her. Her reasoning was that Yang had agreed to help Blake with her various needs for the next several months, what’s a week with the family? It didn’t occur to the faunus until early Friday morning, the day they were scheduled to leave for Patch, that she would be spending a week acting as Yang's _girlfriend_ the entire time.

She tried not to think too much on that last part as she double checked that all her lights and appliances were off before hearing a hesitant knock at her front door, opening it to a tired looking Yang. “Hey Blake…”

Blake tried to smile in reassurance as she turned to grab her laptop bag and her suitcase. “Hey Yang. Ready?”

Yang gave a nervous huff of a laugh from her doorway as she waited for Blake. “I should be the one asking you that. Are you sure you want to do this? Last chance to back out now if you want, I’ll just show up by myself and explain to my dad for the hundredth time that you were too busy…” Yang looked so tired yet her words were both honest and very tempting. She was giving the writer an out but Blake knew that if she decided to back out now she would feel guilty later. Blake just squared her shoulders and gripped her luggage handle a bit tighter.

“That wouldn’t be fair to you Yang, I agreed to come along. You can think of this as me repaying you the favor of helping me.” She said finally as she slung her laptop bag over one shoulder.

That got an honest smile out of Yang. “Thanks… Here let me help you with that.”

Blake offered no protest as Yang grabbed her small rolling suitcase and carried it out to the car where a patiently waiting Pyrrha sat behind the wheel. She offered Blake a warm greeting as she got into the back seat quickly followed by Yang. Due to the nervous atmosphere, the group made little conversation during the forty five minute drive to the harbor. Once there Blake felt like she made the biggest oversight of the century.

The harbors were packed.

She must have made some sign of discomfort as Yang placed a hand on her shoulder, causing Blake to jump a little. “Hey it’ll be alright Blake. I upgraded dad’s tickets so that we would have a cabin to ourselves once onboard.”

“Since Yang did the online check in you both could stay in the car until they start boarding, if you’d like.” Pyrrha added as she turned in the front seat to also offer a warm smile of her own.

“Please?” Blake knew her voice sounded small and she hated it. At least she was able to focus more on her breathing, trying to prepare herself for the short time she would have to be out in the crowd. She briefly wondered how that would work though as the thought of having to get out of the car had Blake rooted to her seat with fear. She couldn’t even bring herself to look out the window.

Yang and Pyrrha chatted idly, but Blake was only partially listening as she stared at her lap for what seemed like forever. Soon enough though the ferry began it’s boarding procedures in which Yang hopped out of the car and grabbed her big duffel bag along with Blake’s suitcase. Too soon was she opening Blake’s door for her. When the blonde saw her hesitation she leaned in close with a serious expression.

“Blake, I swear no one will hurt you. They’ll have to go through me first to get to you, understand?” If it wasn’t for them being so close Blake wouldn’t have been able to to hear Yang, she had spoken so quietly. For a split second, Blake swore she saw Yang’s eyes darken from their normal lilac to nearly red in color. Under different circumstances that might of scared or concerned Blake, but instead it gave her the courage to unbuckle her seat belt as she nodded meekly.

They said their goodbyes to Pyrrha, who promised that she would try to be the one to pick them up when they returned next Friday, or if something came up she would text Yang in advance. Both woman waved goodbye as the red vehicle drove away before they turned to join the mass of people boarding the ferry.

It took every ounce of willpower that Blake had in order to walk alongside Yang as they joined the line of people. Her ears folded back at the thudding sound of her own pulse as she began to breath through her nose in long deep pulls. The pungent smell of seawater and algae doing little to distract her from the shuffling bodies around her. Blake was focused so much on her death grip on the strap of her laptop bag that she hardly took notice of Yang wrapping her left arm around her shoulders in a seemingly casual gesture. That is until the blonde leaned close to her human ear and spoke, nearly startling the faunus out of her skin.

“Hey, can you tell me the name of the ship we’re about to board?” The question caught Blake off guard as she blinked at Yang’s profile a bit dumbfounded.

Why would she want to know that right this instance? Better yet, _how_ did she not know that? The name of the ship was practically plastered on their boarding passes last Blake checked. Regardless she decided to answer Yang’s question albeit with a bit of confusion clear in her tone. “It’s called ‘Pride’…”

From the corner of her eye she saw Yang try to hold back a smile as she nodded. “I could _totally_ make a joke or two about that, b _uuuuut_ I’d rather know how many windows you can see lining the ferry from here.”

Blake couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Why?” Honestly, couldn’t she count them for herself?

Yang shrugged though, an awkward gesture since she was carrying their luggage with one arm with the other still around Blake’s shoulders. “Just curious to see how many you can see.”

Sighing Blake shook her head but looked up and alongside the ferry to count the windows like Yang asked. “I can only see the ones on the lower level from here, but I can see eleven of them.”

“Cool, one of the those windows might belong to our cabin by the way. Also, do you know what type of bird that is?” Yang carried on in a conversational matter.

Looking around Blake couldn’t help but frown as she saw lots of birds, mostly seagulls flying around the harbor and perched along the railings of the ferry. “Yang, there’s like a hundred birds out here, which one are you referring to?” She let her frustration finally be heard in her tone.

With her arm still around Blake's shoulders, Yang pointed up, directing her gaze towards a bird that was perched nearly above them on one of the harbors wooden pillars. “That big gray one. The one that’s _totally_ giving you the stink eye.”

It only took Blake a quick glance to know the species of bird as she turned to look at Yang with an annoyed expression, ears tilted back. “Yang how do you not know what a _pelican_ is?”

“Oh I knew what it was. I just wanted to see if _you_ knew what it was.” The blonde chuckled as she finally allowed her arm to drop from Blake's shoulders in order to pull something out from inside her jacket.

It was when she pulled out their boarding passes and handed it to the far too chipper deckhand that it dawned on Blake what Yang had done. She wasn’t asking Blake to answer seemingly random questions so much as she was drawing Blake’s attention away from the crowd around them. She couldn’t help her sudden facepalm with embarrassment as Yang reached for her free hand and led them onto the ferry.

“I’m sorry Yang, I just realized what you were doing…” Blake felt stupid. _‘And to think I was just about to snap at her for asking me what a pelican was!’_

Yang offered her a knowing smile as she squeezed her hand lightly. “Took you long enough. But hey, it worked for your anxiety right?” Blake could only nod, which prompted Yang’s smile to morph into a wide toothy grin. “Good, now let’s go find our cabin! Be on the look out for number twenty six okay?”

It only took them a few minutes to locate their room, though it did feel like a much longer endeavor as Blake’s anxiety flared again as she was unable to ignore the many people milling about the inside of the ferry. Yang did her best to put herself between Blake and the dozens of people which was a sweet gesture, and it did help but only marginally. Once they located their cabin and the door was shut behind them Blake felt a wash of relief take over her as her shoulders finally relaxed.

The room was tiny, cramped even with a single bed built for _barely_ one person and small built in desk and stool. The window took up much of the back wall, and as Yang mentioned in her earlier prediction, their view indeed surveyed over the walkway where they had boarded.

“So I know the boat ride over will only be like, two maybe two and a half hours. But if you’re hungry now I can go up to the cafeteria to fetch us some grub. Or you know we could wait until we get to my dad’s place and eat there. Your choice.” Yang commented as she deposited their belongings under the bed and sat on it.

For a brief second Blake thought about asking for some tea, seeing as she had to forgo her usual morning cup as she didn’t want to leave any dishes laying in her sink for a week. Ultimately she shook her head as she sat heavily onto the stool, carefully setting her laptop bag onto the small desk. “I’ll pass for now.”

“Yeah me too. The last time I tried communal ferry food the pancakes tasted like compressed powder.” She made a disgusted face that Blake couldn’t help but grimace at. That did sound rather unappealing. “So… What'cha wanna do until we arrive in Patch?” She added as she lightly swung her legs from the edge of the bed.

Blake folded her hands in her lap as she regarded Yang’s question. “Honestly I would appreciate some more insight into your family if you don’t mind. I mean, I already know what they do, your dad being a martial arts teacher and your sister is a college student. But I would like to know more about what they're like and what I should expect when I meet them, or if I should act a certain way.” She finished with a shrug to hide her nervousness. “Or if you know, me being a faunus would be an issue…” She hoped it wouldn’t be. Other than the one time Yang mentioned her superior hearing she’s never commented on it nor have her friends.

Yang made an amused sound as she leaned back against the wall with her hands behind her head. “Blakey you being a faunus won’t be a problem. I bet you dad won’t even bring it up the entire time we’re there. Ruby on the other hand might comment on how cute your ears are cause she’s a dork, but she’s a _harmless_ dork.” Blake resisted reaching up to touch one of her ears. She’s never had anyone call them ‘cute’ before. Furthermore she tried not to blush as she remembered that Yang had inadvertently called her cute when they first met.

“As far as you ‘ _acting_ ’ a certain way, you be you Blake.” Yang continued in a more neutral tone. “They’ve never met you, so you can just be your awesome self and they’ll be none the wiser. As far as my family goes, well, be prepared to answer like, _a million_ questions from Ruby. And I mean like a one sided rapid fire game of twenty questions. Don’t worry that’s just her way of getting to know new people. She’s never really been interested in sticking her nose into my relationships before, and I hope that hasn’t changed, so she most likely won’t be asking you about ‘ _us_ ’.” She said the word ‘us’ with finger quotations to which Blake nodded in understanding that she meant them as a couple.

Yang paused before moving her hands to her lap in order to lean her head fully back and stared at the ceiling. “Honestly it’s my dad I’m more worried about.” She blew out a breath not quite a sigh. “I fully expect him to interrogate us both at some point given that’s his thing, and he’s done it in the past with my previous relationships. Not to mention he’ll treat us like teenagers, but for once I’m not even mad at him for ‘ _forcing_ ’ us to sleep in different rooms.”

Blake had to admit when Yang told her that previously in the week it was a great relief. She wasn’t sure how she would’ve been able to handle a situation where they would have to share a bed. Before she could get too lost in _that_ train of thought, a different question came to the forefront of her mind. “Dare I ask how many people you’ve dated?” Blake asked hesitantly before she could stop herself. One could say that it was because curiosity killed the cat, but she hated that saying for obvious reasons, even if it was true.

The blonde just gave her a grimace as she made a displeased sound. “A number I am not willing to admit because only a handful of them were actually serious. You?”

It was a fair question, yet Blake still felt her ears pull back in embarrassment. “Only two. As you can imagine, with one woman and one guy.”

Lilac eyes gave her an amused look as Yang hummed in acknowledgment. Blake felt like she was silently being teased and couldn’t stop the small blush that formed as Yang coughed lightly to continue. “Honestly though the only relationship that _might_ be brought up would be my last one. I had dated this one girl for about a year and some change and I’m pretty sure she got along with my dad, I’m not a hundred percent sure though. I know Ruby didn’t like her much, especially at the end of our relationship.” Yang gave a heavy sigh.

When she didn’t comment further Blake found herself yet again unable to contain her curiosity. “Can I ask what happened that caused you two to break up?”

A flash of what looked like sadness crossed Yang’s features before it was quickly masked behind a tired looking expression. “She broke up with me. Supposedly she had valid reasons for doing so, but she dumped me the same day my arm was amputated…” Yang shook her head as if to shake the memory from her as she leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees. Causing her face to become slightly hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair. “Look Blake, I know my arm is something you should know about, but…”

There was hurt in her voice. The kind that spoke volumes of how painful the memory was despite that the wound was healed and scared over. An emotion that Blake knew all too well.

“I can’t imagine how hard that must have been. Both of my relationships ended mutually and on good terms. So I guess I haven’t experienced what a true break up feels like.” Blake inhaled before continuing. “Illia and I dated in high school but we wanted to attend different colleges, so we ultimately decided to end it rather then try the long distance thing. And then in my second year of college I dated a guy named Sun. Nice guy but after a few months we both realized that he was trying to pretend to be into girls instead of his best friend who is now his husband. I’m still friends with both of them though and send them cards every now and then.”

Yang gave her a tired but grateful looking smile as she brushed her hair aside and sat up with a sigh. A moment of silence passed between them before Yang sighed again as she leaned against the wall with a thump. “So yeah… Back tracking a bit, you get to be you Blake but I’m gonna have to put up a front to keep up appearances.”

Blake tilted her head slightly. “To pass off that we’re a couple right?”

Yang nodded as she began to bounce a knee in nervous tension. “Yeah. I mean we _could_ tell them the truth, but honestly Blake I don’t trust either of them to be able to keep a secret to save their life.”

It was Blake's turn to nod. “You mentioned that on Monday. And I sadly agree that not telling them would be best. I’m… Sorry, if this is putting too much pressure on you Yang.” She felt guilty but Yang barked a laugh.

“Nah, it’s not so much as pressure as I’m just slipping back into a role. Like putting on old clothes but I’m not sure if they still fit after so long, if that makes any sense.” Yang rubbed at her face for a second. “Yeah so I’m just giving you a heads up that I’ll be dropping innuendos at any opportunity I get and I might be a bit more handsy. Like constantly holding hands or me having an arm wrapped around you sort of thing. But if I cross a line and I make you uncomfortable please, for the love of Oum _pleeeease_ tell me. Or you know, smack me or _whatever_ so I’ll know to rein it in okay?”

Blake nodded idly before a thought overtook her. She understood Yang mentioned she would be more handsy but what about kissing… Blake felt her face instantly grow hot, no doubt her cheeks were also turning a fierce color of red. She began to fidget in her seat at the thought. “We, huh… We won’t be expected to kiss or anything right?” It was so awkward to ask out loud that Blake couldn’t look at her friend as as she asked.

Instantly she heard Yang begin to snicker before full blown laughter started to bubble out of her. When Blake shot her a frown, cause honestly she was being serious and didn’t see what was so funny, Yang paused in her mirth long enough to shoot her a flirtatious look. “Yes Blake, we are to be making out every chance we get like horny teenagers. Matter of fact why don’t you get your booty over here kitten so we could start practicing?”

Blake felt her whole body flush, not just her face. Even her cat ears felt hot. Surely she was joking, she had to be! The thought of kissing Yang… _‘Nope- do not go there Blake…’_ As her thoughts were interrupted by Yang being overcome by a much louder fit of laughter Blake suddenly knew Yang was teasing her.

“Y-your face! Priceless.. Wha-no BLAKE _ACK_! I WAS KIDDIN- _EEP_!!” Blake had deftly snatched the cheap pillow off the bed and was currently smacking the blonde with it. Yang quickly turtle up with her arms covering her face and alternated between laughing and pleading while Blake continued to smack her repeatedly as she vented her embarrassment.

“You. Are. _Insufferable_!” She punctuated each word with a finalizing hit. When she finally ceased her assault Blake felt a tad out of breath but took notice that the boat had started to gently move beneath her feet. A quick glance out the window confirmed that they were finally on the move towards their destination.

“I’m sorry Blake, I just couldn’t resist.” Blake could still hear the laughter in her friends voice as she tossed the pillow at the blondes head and sat back on the stool with a huff and crossed her arms.

She really didn’t like being teased...

Yang stood from the bed, her clothes and hair now a bit disheveled from the one sided pillow fight. When Blake finally decided to meet her eyes, Yang at least had the decency to look apologetic though she was still smiling as she tried to smooth out her hair by running her fingers through the blonde tresses. She looked embarrassed for a brief second before clearing her throat. “Blake, I’m not expecting us to kiss or anything. We could say you’re not into PDA like that or something. Or it could be something you initiate, like on the cheek or something platonic I don’t care. I’ll leave that up to you. But at least now you know what my inappropriate levels of humor will be.”

Blake still felt her ears tilt back in annoyance. “You’re still insufferable.” She quietly stated, though she felt her shoulders relax at not being expected to make out with her friend.

Yang just winked at her. “I only get worse the longer you know me.” She then stretched her arms above her head and stepped towards the cabin door. “Well, I’m now hungry enough to brave whatever they are passing off as edible up in the cafeteria. Want me to bring you back anything?”

Uncrossing her arms with a small huff, Blake conceded that she couldn’t pretend to be mad at Yang forever. Besides, tea sounded wonderful right about now. “Tea please.” She replied after a brief consideration.

Yang laughed lightly and shook her head. “I should have guessed. I’ll be back in a bit then. Try not to have any wild parties while I’m gone.” And with one last playful wink, which Blake rolled her eyes at, she left.

Blake waited for the count of ten before she turned on the stool and hunched over the desk with a frustrated groan. Her forehead resting against the cool material as the gentle motion of the ferry swayed her back and forth ever so slightly. She was so embarrassed with herself that she couldn’t quite decide if she wanted to scream, or throw herself into the ocean.

First she thought about kissing her friend-pretend-girlfriend, then she _seriously_ thought about kissing her friend. “Get a grip Blake…” She groaned again before she stood to fetch one of her books from her suitcase. She just knew that this week would be putting both her sanity and patience to the test, possibly in more ways than one.

Not to mention testing her already crumbling control over her growing fondness for Yang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else has had conversations like that with their parents? No? Just Tux and I? Well fine then, you must have normal chill parents unlike us apparently. I see how it is, no need to rub it in our faces… 
> 
> Anyway don’t mind me. I’m just gonna continue to snicker like an idiot and curl my imaginary mustache in my writing dungeon while the pun cannon is being loaded…No seriously, stupid puns AND dad jokes are coming with the next chapter. And Ruby! WOOOT!


	15. The Dad Jokes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter, but hey that’s because we have a lot of stuff happening in the next several chapters that I thought it best to break it up into several chapters instead of having one giant novel of a chapter.

Yang came back with perhaps _the most_ over brewed cup of coffee Blake had ever seen and handed her the _saddest_ , most water-downed tea she had ever tried to consume. It tasted literally like water with a bit of tea flavoring, which Blake only was able to brave a few sips of before deeming the rest of the cup unworthy of further consumption. After that, the rest of the ferry ride was largely uneventful.

The two of them had talked for perhaps another hour about Yang’s family and discussed appropriate pet names for each other, (Blake was adamant that Yang _was not_ allowed to call her kitten under any circumstances) before the blonde had made a jaw cracking yawn. Seeing how it was just barely eight in the morning, Yang had opted to take a power nap while Blake continued to read one of her books to pass the time.

Once they arrived in Patch, the departure wasn’t nearly as stressful as when they had boarded seeing as there was only a couple of families that departed the ferry along with the both of them. Once she and Yang made it off the ferry and onto the pier, there wasn’t enough people for Blake’s phobia to find the justification in acting up which she was grateful for. The last thing she wanted was to meet Yang's family while being in the middle of a having a breakdown. So they were able to walk down the long wooden boardwalk with Yang pointing out various things to Blake in an actual show of interest, rather than in effort to try and distract her.

Unlike the harbor in Vale where they had boarded, which was located downtown on the coattails of the business district and therefore always packed with people and boats, Patch’s harbor only had one docking zone and was attached to a ridiculously long wooden pier. Up on the mainland there was a single moderately sized building, that had ‘Patch Information and Check in Center’ written on the side and was surrounded by a large parking lot before transitioning to tall trees and other forest foliage. Over all, if it wasn’t for the few people who departed the ferry and the handful of cars that dotted the parking lot, the place would have looked deserted like some post apocalyptic film.

“Looks like dads here already. Remember, just be yourself.” Yang drew Blake's attention as she motioned towards the lone building where a blonde gentleman could be seen waving at the two women.

Suddenly with each step Blake felt herself hesitating, the only thing that kept her moving forward was Yang’s hand in hers. _‘Honestly who isn’t nervous meeting their friends parents? Probably those who_ aren’t _in a fake relationship with their friend…’_ Blake felt a lump grow in her throat the closer they got. Yang must have picked up on her nervousness somehow as she offered her a reassuring smile, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

Yang’s father however apparently couldn’t be bothered to wait for them to walk the remaining twenty feet as he jogged briskly up to them. “Oh there’s my sunny girl, I’ve missed you _so_ much! I’m so glad that you both could make it!” Tai greeted them both with a big smile as he enveloped Yang in a big hug, forcing Blake to let go of her hand as he lifted his daughter off her feet.

“Yeah yeah… It’s not like you blackmailed us or anything…” Blake could hear the sarcasm drip from Yang’s tone as she returned the hug one handed, as she was still holding onto their luggage. Once she was set down and free of her father's embrace Yang gave him a rough but playful shove on the shoulder. “Anyway dad, this is Blake, who you should be eternally grateful to for taking the time from her busy schedule to join us. Blake, meet my old man, Taiyang!”

“Who you calling old? Oh never mind that, it’s so good to finally meet you!” Before Blake knew it she was enveloped in the same bone crushing hug Taiyang had given his daughter. Needless to say it caught her off guard as she mostly likely made some sort of surprised noise, she wasn't sure though. Blake was expecting to just shake hands with Tai and call it good, but this... Yeah she was not expecting this kind of warm welcome. 

In a different light this might be considered a good thing as it meant the older blonde already accepted Blake’s… _bond_ , with his daughter. But right now Blake found herself more concerned over the need to breathe as she frantically looked at Yang over her fathers shoulder for assistance.

Her lilac eyes twinkled with mirth as she looked at Blake before assisting with the writers predicament. “Dad! Could you please not kill my girlfriend? Ruby hasn’t even had the chance to meet her yet.” Yang barely tugged at her dad’s shoulder before he let go of Blake just as quickly as he hugged her. Blake felt a bit light headed and if it wasn’t for Taiyang still holding onto her shoulders, she would have wobbled on her feet.

“Sorry about that, I guess with my right to _bare_ arms I forget my own strength.” Even though he gave her a wide smile, Blake couldn’t tell if that was supposed to be a subtle threat or a joke considering he was wearing a tank top. Glancing at Yang over Tai’s shoulder and seeing her pinching the bridge of her nose she guessed it was just a bad joke. Hopefully...

Adjusting the strap of her laptop bag and clearing her throat, Blake tried to return Taiyang’s smile but was sure it came out more like a grimace instead. “It’s nice to meet you too Mr. Xiao-Long…”

“ _Ooooh_ no. None of this _Mister_ stuff… That’ll really make me feel old. Just call me Tai! Or you know, ‘ _Dad_ ’ will work too.” He flashed her another bright smile as Yang groaned out loud behind him.

“Alright dad, _enough_. I don’t know about you but Blake and I haven’t had anything _consumable_ since we woke up.” Yang intervened as she wrapped an arm around Blake’s waist, tugging her gently away from the older blonde and towards the direction of a beat up jeep parked nearby.

“You didn’t eat on the boat?” Tai was quick to catch up as he opened the back of the jeep for Yang to stow their luggage.

“Really? Dad, Blake could _live_ off tea, but even _she_ couldn’t stomach whatever they were passing off as tea. And don’t get me started on the poisonous sludge they tried calling coffee…” Blake couldn’t help her smile as she and Yang climbed into the back seat of the jeep. Blake silently watching in amusement as both father and daughter continued to bicker back and forth about the atrocities of communal ferry cuisine for a majority of the drive.

\---

As her dad pulled up to the two story log cabin Yang felt a wave of nostalgia come over her. She suddenly remembered all the summers she and Ruby had spent playing in the yard, all the epic Halloween parties that were held and other fond memories. Unfortunately not all the memories she remembered were good, but she tried her best not to focus on those. Least they sour her mood for the rest of the day.

Once the jeep slowed to a stop in front of her childhood home, Yang hopped out and offered a hand to Blake before retrieving their belongings from the back. Walking up next to the faunus it didn’t escape her notice how Blake's ears were perked forward as she took in the exterior of the house in what seemed to be like wonderment.

“So, what do you think? Must be a relief to know you aren't the _only one_ who lives in a house miles away from civilization huh?” Yang couldn’t help but tease as she lightly bumped her shoulder into the writers.

Blake just rolled her eyes as she returned the shoulder bump. “Well _excuse me_ for liking my privacy.” She quietly replied. Blake probably meant to sound chiding but the effect was ruined by her small smile.

A smile that quickly vanished as her faunus ears twitched in the direction of the house, picking up a sound that Yang’s humans ears couldn’t.

“Guess who’s hom- _Whoa_ Zwei!” Tai’s excited voice was cut off by a series of happy barks as he walked up to the porch and opened the front door. The barking was the only warning Yang got before a corgi sized cannon ball shot out of the house and headed straight for her. She was prepared to be jumped on by the dog, but Yang was not prepared to be jumped on by Blake as the writer literally jumped into her arms in effort to get away from the excited fur ball. Yang was forced to drop their luggage to the ground in effort to hold onto Blake more securely least she succumb to gravity.

_‘I knew Blake preferred cats but this… At least she's lighter then I expected.’_ Yang tried to smother her laughter, she really did. But the comical sight that they undoubtedly made was making it difficult to contain her merriment. Here she was, standing in the front yard of her family home holding onto Blake like some newly wedded bride, who currently clung herself closer to Yang in terror of the corgi currently running around the blondes ankles. All the while Zwei was barking excitedly with his butt wiggling with sheer happiness that a member of his family had returned home and brought along a new person to befriend.

The _piece de resistance_ however was Tai suddenly rushing after the family pet, trying (and failing) to grab the dog while apologies spewed from his mouth the entire time.

“Blake, I knew dogs really weren’t your _ideal_ pet, but I didn’t think you were a little scaredy cat around them.” Yang couldn’t help but comment, laughing harder as Blake's only reply was to glare at her with her ears pinned so far back the blended in with her dark hair.

“ _Ugh_ , what is going on out here! Can’t a girl read her comics is peace!?” Both Blake and Yang looked up to the front door of the house to see a girl clad in red pajamas stomp out of the house. Her brunette hair was bit disheveled, but Ruby still looked the same from the last time Yang had seen her.

“Ruby? Dad didn’t mention you were home already! When did you get home squirt?” Yang called out with a smile on her face. She watched as Ruby’s annoyed puffed out cheeks morphed into recognition, then turned into the biggest smile as she bolted off the porch much like Zwei had.

“YANG! Oh my Oum you’re here! I took the first boat here which was stupid early and- aaannnnd you brought your girlfriend!! _Oh my gosh_ -it’ssogoodtomeetyoui’mlikeyourbiggestfanand-” Ruby was quickly interrupted by Yang giving her a ‘ _gentle_ ’ kick to the shin, effectively shutting her up. “ _Ow_ -Hey what was the for?”

Yang rolled her eyes. “Did you have cookies or something for breakfast? You sound like a chipmunk after a caffeine injection.” As Ruby pouted adorably at her, Yang could still hear Tai trying to catch Zwei somewhere behind them. A bad choice as she turned to see that Zwei had taken Tai chasing after him as a form of play and was currently running circles around the jeep. For a corgi his age he was still pretty quick on those stubby little legs of his.

She also noticed, with no small amount of amusement, that she was still holding onto Blake. Her cat ears were still tightly pinned back and didn’t appear too keen on being let down anytime soon. Her golden eyes alternated between cautious looks towards the direction of where Zwei was running then glancing to the front door of the house.

Yang picked up the subtle hint and chuckled lightly, directing her attention back to her sister in front of her. “Hey Rubes, why don’t you grab our bags while we let those two tucker themselves out and head inside?” Yang didn’t really wait for an answer as she adjusted her grip on Blake’s legs, which were surprisingly firm feeling, before walking towards the front door. She needn’t worry though as Ruby made an excited noise, instantly slinging Yang’s duffel bag over one shoulder and bear hugging Blake’s suitcase instead of using the handle like how the designed indicated it should be used.

“Will you make pancakes for breakfast!?” Ruby somehow seemed even more excitable as she dashed in front of Yang in a blur of red to hold open the front door. She shook her head knowingly at her younger sister. Ruby more than likely already ate, proof being that she wasn’t a walking zombie right now, but Yang could never say no to her little sis. Besides, she hasn't seen her in a while, so she _suppose_ she could spoil Ruby a bit with second breakfast.

Crossing the threshold into the house Yang finally set Blake down as she hummed in thought, as if musing over Ruby's request. As Blake gingerly stood on her own two feet she looked adorably embarrassed with her ears still pinned back, though not as far, and her cheeks were dusted a light shade of pink. Yang couldn’t help give her a big old wink when their eyes met, causing the blush to deepen ever so slightly as she lightly wrapped an arm around Blake’s shoulders. “Sure why not Ruby... What about you Blake, are you hungry for some pancakes?”

Blake cleared her throat as she adjusted the strap of her bag, “I wouldn’t say no to your cooking.”

“Sweet deal! While Yang cooks I’ll give you the grand tour, just follow me!” Before Blake or Yang could stop the brunette she had shifted her hold on their luggage and grabbed Blake’s hand and nearly dragged the poor woman down the hallway. The faunus looked at Yang with wide golden eyes, the blonde currently only able to laugh at the hilarity at the antics of her younger sister.

“Ruby! You be nice to Blake, and bring her back in one piece or you won’t get any pancakes!” She halfheartedly threatened, the effect ruined only because she was still lightly laughing as she made her way to the kitchen after hearing Ruby’s reply of ‘ _Roger dodger_ ’.

Not long after, Yang had shed her jacket and was whisking the pancake ingredients in a large bowl in the kitchen. It didn’t take long to find everything that she needed to make vanilla pancakes, seeing as the house hadn’t changed much since the last time she was home. Though Yang felt a bit surprised when she found a box of tea stashed next to the flour. In a house full of coffee drinkers Yang was mildly curious how the tea even found its way into the house to begin with, but she set some water to boil on one of the back burners.

She wasn’t sure if it was something Blake would even like, but it was tea, and Blake liked tea. It was even labeled ‘breakfast blend’ tea, which seemed appropriate seeing as Yang was making breakfast food. So that meant they went together right? Well if not, at least she tried. It’s the thought that counts.

“When did my sunny little dragon get so good at cooking?” From the corner of her eye she saw Tai lean against the sink with his arms crossed. He was still a bit flushed from his impromptu marathon run and had a good amount of dog hair stuck to his shirt. Not doubt from having finally catching Zwei putting him into the backyard.

“I got _butter_ when I moved out and had to feed myself.” Yang couldn’t help her smile as Tai chuckled as she added batter to the skillet, making the first pancake.

“Puns now? Oh come on Yang, I know your morning was a little _ruff_ but you’re gonna have to do _batter_ than that.

Yang rolled her eyes. “I think you’re confusing yourself with me. You were the one that was chasing a tiny cheetah that was _incorgnito_.”

Tai made a fake grimace. “Ugh… Was that joke made of paper? Because it was _tearable_!”

Ruby at that moment skipped into the kitchen with Blake shyly walking in behind her. “I smell food! Good, cause I'm starving!”

Yang could practically hear her dads smile as he pushed away from the counter to sit at the table across from where the youngest family member stood. “Hi there Starving, I’m Dad.” Ruby just groaned at the terrible dad joke as she roughly pulled out a chair and plopped herself into it.

Yang looked over her shoulder to see Blake still standing by the kitchen entrance, looking a bit awkward before she finally noticed Yang’s gaze. She couldn’t help but shoot her a smile as she beckoned the faunus over with a small jerk of her head.

“Hey babe, did you enjoy the tour?” She asked once Blake stood next to her.

Blake gently nudged her shoulder against Yang’s. “It’s a lovely home Yang. Though you weren’t kidding about the million questions…” Blake sighed causing Yang to make an amused sound.

“Can’t say I didn’t warn you. How you holding up by the way?”

“Tired, but good. Your sister just has way more energy than I am accustomed to without a cup of tea, or several. I should have brought some with us.” Her ears drooped slightly as she sighed wistfully causing Yang to smile brightly at her.

“Well, you happen to be in luck. I’m not sure if it’s one of your preferred blends but I found some tea stashed away. The water should just be about ready if you want to grab a cup out of that cupboard and the tea box is behind you.” Yang couldn’t stop her heart from fluttering as Blake’s ears perked up as a grateful smile spread across her face.

“You are a lifesaver.” She gave Yang a quick side hug before heading to the aforementioned cupboard.

“It was nothing...” If Yang didn’t have a spatula in one hand and the skillet in the other she would have rubbed the back of her neck to play off her sudden bashful expression.

“ _Whiiiiiiiiipped_ …” Yang sighed, of course Ruby just had to take that moment to loudly whisper her thoughts on her interaction with Blake.

Turning towards her younger sister and pointing with the spatula at the snickering brunette, Yang gave Ruby a mock glare. “Hey you, no comments from the peanut gallery or you won’t get any pancakes after all.”

Ruby exaggerated the motion of rolling her eyes. “Well what if I changed my mind and wanted waffles instead? What would you do then?”

Yang barked out a laugh. “Waffles are just pancakes with _abs_. So you won’t get any of those either.” When Ruby made a loud gasp and a offended sounding ‘ _hey_ ’, and because Yang was a mature adult, she stuck her tongue out at her sister. The two sisters spent a split second glaring at each other before bursting out into laughter.

She had to admit, it was good to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent way too long on trying to come up with some of those jokes by the way. The waffle one I stole from a t-shirt a coworker wore to work one day. I regret noting... Anyway, I couldn’t help but throw in Blake being scared of Zwei, cause it’s cannon and I had to okay! It was a compulsion really... >.> See you all next week!


	16. The Late Night Confessions

Blake and Yang had spent a majority of the day settling in along with Ruby, since her younger sister had been home only a handful of hours longer than they had. Meanwhile, Tai was given a mile long grocery list and headed into town to do some shopping. It had caused some amusement on Yang’s part when Blake had tried giving Tai some cash to pay for some boxes of tea and he adamantly refused it. It was adorable how her ears drooped when she finally admitted defeat, not knowing her attempt at being persistent had won her some brownie points with the older blonde. That is if Tai’s toothy smile he shot Yang was anything to judge by.

Other observations that Yang made on their first day home was that Ruby already liked Blake. Which was a relief considering her approval was something Yang hadn’t known she was nervous about until she felt her shoulders relax as the two talked about Blake’s novels over dinner. Apparently Ruby has read them all, but _Iceflower_ was her personal favorite because ‘ _Detective Snow is her Bae_ ’, she claimed. Yang made a mental note that once she had finished Ivory Fang that she would read that one next.

After dinner was eaten and dishes cleaned, the family plus Blake found themselves in the living room as Tai insisted on watching a movie together before they all turned in for the night. Of course this led to Yang and Ruby bickering over what genre to watch before Tai intervened, stating that Blake should pick out the movie. Yang found it slightly surprising that Blake chose to watch the original Beauty and the Beast.

“Really? A kids movie?” Yang couldn’t stop her teasing comment as Blake sat down next to her on the couch once the opening credits started.

Blake merely shrugged as she curled her feet underneath her. “What? You _know_ It’s my favorite fable.”

Yang smiled as she easily picked up on the hint but couldn’t resist from teasing Blake just a bit more. Not only because it was easy to do but mostly because her reactions amused Yang. “Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that it’s a _children's_ fable babe.” Yang casually wrapped her arm around Blake’s shoulders as the writer narrowed her golden eyes slightly in her direction.

“I _will_ pinch you…”

Yang of course took that as a challenge. “Oooo Kinky, I like it when you’re feisty.” She intended to wink as well but no sooner had the words left her mouth did Blake strike.

Blake was quick to pinch Yang first in the shoulder, causing Yang to squirm before the faunus switched to poking her in the ribs. Yang began to shriek with laughter as she tried to move away from Blake. Escaping was a futile attempt however, as she was sitting against the armrest and only succeeded in leaving herself open for further poking as Blake continued her relentless assault.

That is, until Ruby smacked them both with a pillow yelling ‘ _shush your faces!_ ’ as the movie finally started. Tai further enforced good behavior by threatening to sit in between the couple if they kept it up. Yang felt obligated to grumble about being treated like a child while Blake only smiled at her before becoming engrossed with the movie.

The movie wasn’t so bad though, even for a kids movie. At some point Blake had sat close enough to Yang that she rested her head against her shoulder. Yang tried to fool herself into thinking as she had wrapped her arm around Blake’s shoulders that holding her closer for the duration of the movie was to keep up the ‘girlfriend’ appearance. But the truth of the matter was that she just really liked having Blake that close to her.

It also didn’t help that she spent a majority of the movie watching Blake from the corner of her eye. Watching the writer silently sing along or mouth out the words to a line or two, even how she would sigh at a particular scene and tear up at the end made Yang’s heart swell with affection. It was adorable, Blake was adorable. Yang could barely stand it as she really, really wanted to kiss the faunus. But she promised Pyrrha that she wouldn’t use this family visit as an excuse to force her feelings on the writer in the guise of keeping up appearances.

As much as Yang enjoyed the closeness she shared with Blake, it sadly came to an end when the credits rolled and Blake stood from the couch to put the movie away. Yang stretched her arms high above her head to hide her mild disappointment at the loss of warmth next to her.

Seeing Ruby curled up on the other end of the couch, Yang couldn't help but give her younger sister an affectionate smile. She knew her dad had passed out about halfway through the movie in his big recliner with Zwei also passed out in his lap, both of their soft snores easily heard from across the living room. It was clear that the day, filled with traveling and the excitement of being reunited with family, must have finally caught up to everyone.

“Wow, who would have thought that a kids movie would have knocked out two adults?” Yang quietly pointed the two out to Blake when she looked back at her from turning off the TV. Admittedly she herself was a bit tired as she stood on stiff legs before taking the throw blanket off the back of the couch and gently covering Ruby with it.

“Should we wake them?” Blake whispered as she stood next to Yang once she was done.

She just shook her head with a smile. “Nah, they’ll be good with a couple of blankets thrown on top of ‘em. Trust me. This isn’t the first time these two have passed out like this.”

Neither Taiyang or Ruby stirred as Yang finished covering them both with a few more blankets but not before taking a few unflattering pictures of both family members to tease them with later. Blake of course just raised brow in question as Yang tried not to snicker loudly as she took a picture of Ruby, passed out with her mouth open before the two headed upstairs to go to bed themselves. It was rather late after all and Yang had been up since about five that morning.

Once upstairs, Blake paused outside of the guest room with her ears tilted back and a worried expression playing on her features. Yang looked at her confusedly before chuckling. She couldn’t help it as she remembered how Blake was worried about the possibility of them having to share a room.

_‘Well it’s not like she has to worry about that just yet. Once we travel to Haven that might be a different story but_ meh _, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.’_ Hearing Yang chuckle caused Blake to give her a puzzled look which Yang took the opportunity to poke the writer in the forehead. “Get your mind out of the gutter Belladonna. Dad said that he, and I quote, ‘ _wants no funny business in his house_ ’, so I’m going to be sharing a room with Ruby just down the hall. So if you need anything, you know where to find me.” She laughed quietly a bit longer as Blake rubbed at her forehead with an annoyed expression and her cheeks turning slightly pink.

Blake had halfheartedly glared at Yang a few seconds more be she huffed an amused sound and visibly relaxed. “I have a feeling that’s because you are a troublemaker if left unsupervised.”

Yang crossed her arms and raised a brow at the dark haired woman. “Hey now, I resent that remark. I bet you had your own moments when you were younger. Don't tell me you've never broken the rules to sneak in an unsupervised kiss or two with your girly-friend.” She offered Blake a mischievous smile, almost daring the other woman to tell her that she was wrong.

The faunus only gave her a knowing smile which, if Yang was being honest, highly intrigued her. “Good night Yang.” She offered the former fighter a small wave before disappearing into the guest room. Yang shook her head, her smile never leaving her lips as she waited until the door shut completely with a soft click before continuing down the hallway towards her old bedroom that she shared with Ruby.

The room had hardly changed since she last visited home. The right side of the room contained a bed covered in matching red blankets and pillows with various shelves filled with books and action figures. On the left was much the same, though in yellow instead of red, and instead of action figures there were various band posters covering the walls. The whole bedroom was covered in fairy lights that illuminated the room in a soft glow when Yang flipped the light switch.

Finding her big duffel bag on her bed, she dug through it and pulled out a set of pajamas before shutting off the light and took off her prosthetic, setting it on the nightstand before crawling under the covers. But sleep eluded her as Yang spent an unknown amount of time just staring up at the dark ceiling.

The day had been exhausting, more mentally than physically. Yes, her family seemed to like Blake, not that Yang was really worried that they wouldn’t, but it was at least one less thing to worry about. And deep down she was happy to be with her family again as she hadn’t really gotten to spend a lot of time with them since moving in with Pyrrha. But being back in this house…

Yang exhaled roughly as she turned on her side in effort to drown out her thoughts. Of course she made the mistake of turning on her right side, finding herself now staring at her prosthetic sitting on the nightstand where she had left it. It’s yellow painted panels easily distinguishable in the dark room.

“Fuck…” Yang cursed quietly as she sat up. Her thoughts were suddenly filled with the months she had spent recovering from her surgery here at home. Time spent mostly laying around in this very room thinking she was better off dead. When the phantom pains started Yang clutched at her stump and tried to pull in slow deep breaths through her nose. She hated this, this feeling of lingering pain. Mostly because she had foolishly thought she was over this crap.

Apparently not.

The sight of the door slowly being opened gave Yang a much needed distraction as she watched a soft glow of a scroll light fill the doorway before Ruby stepped into the room. When the younger sibling flashed her light briefly at Yangs bed and saw the older sibling awake and sitting up she let out a startled noise.

“Wha- _Yang_! You scared the jeepers out of me!” She harshly whispered as she clutched at her chest.

Yang answered her sister with a weak smile. “Uh… Boo?”

Composing herself quickly, Ruby took one look at Yang before padding over to sit next to her on the bed, her scroll bathing the two of them in a soft illumination of light. “You know, I thought you would have snuck off into Blake's room by now.” Yang couldn’t help her weak laugh as she leaned against her sisters shoulder once she settled herself. Taking comfort in the small contact shared with her sibling.

“Yeah well, I thought about it but…” Yang paused, not really being able to come up with some excuse on the spot. She just shrugged instead, letting out a long sigh as Ruby leaned her head against Yang’s shoulder.

“Yang, has Blake ever, you know, witnessed one of your episodes?”

Yang felt her eyebrows furrow at the question. Given how long she was supposed to have ‘dated’ Blake, it would be fair to assume that she would have. As Yang thought back to the first six months or so of living with Pyrrha, she had them often before learning to cope with her condition. But ultimately Yang didn’t feel like lying to her sister. “Why do you ask?” She deflected instead.

Ruby fiddled with her scroll in between her hands for a second. “Well, I know how hard it is for you being back here. I mean, when dad called me and told me you were dating I was like, super excited for you. But then he started talking about his ‘ _master plan_ ’ to get you to come home for a visit, and I tried to talk him out of it but... Well, you know how dad gets sometimes.”

At this Yang gave an honest smile. “Yeah, I know. By the way, how did he even find out Blake and I were dating, do you know?”

Ruby barked out a quiet laugh. “No clue. I assumed someone at the dojo told him or something like that. You still haven’t answered my question by the way.”

_‘Well, so much for trying to distract her from the subject…’_ Yang thought as she worried at her lower lip and exhaled roughly through her nose. “Blake knows I suffer from PTS but... Well, don’t spread this around but, she has her own episodes. Not PTSD related, but like, panic attacks cause she has severe anxiety. So I’ve seen her have them and helped her through a few but she has never seen one of mine.”

Ruby nodded along as she reached her hand over to hold Yang’s. “Pinky swear, cross my heart and if I break my vow, I’ll never eat cookies again.” She even crossed her free hand over her chest causing Yang to huff a laugh.

“ _Ooooo_ no more cookies if you break your promise? You must be serious.” Yang teased as she squeezed her sisters hand lightly in silent thanks.

“Yup! I never lie when cookies are on the line!” At that the two of them giggled because it was a true Ruby statement before the younger sister looked at Yang with a serious expression. “Is it wrong of me to hope she never has to see you go through one? Cause I really like her, and I’m not just saying that cause I’m a fan of her books. But I don’t want you to have one and she decides it’s too much and leaves.”

Yang slouched as she sighed. “Me neither Rubes. I mean, I don’t want to lose her. She’s… Oum Ruby she means so much to me…” Yang felt safe admitting so to her sister as she brought her knees to her chest and hugged them with her one arm.

“Yeah I know, it’s like, clear as day how you feel about her.” Ruby said matter of factly.

“Oh yeah?” Yang couldn’t help but raise a brow in question.

“Oh yeah.” Ruby started to say as she got up from Yang’s bed to head over to her own. “You look at her the way I look at a batch of freshly baked cookies.”

Yang snickered before laughing at the imagery. “I’m so telling Blake that you think I look at her like I want to eat her.”

Ruby made an exaggerated noise of frustration before tossing a pillow at the laughing blonde. “Eeew No! That’s not- _Oh my gosh_ Yang what’s wrong with you! I _meant_ you look at her like she's the only woman in existence!”

“Uh-huh, sure you did sis, cause you look at cookies like they are the only thing in existence and _not_ want to eat them...” Yang awkwardly tossed the pillow back at Ruby as the younger sister continued to make gagging noises at her.

“Good night Yang!” Ruby said firmly with a finalizing note in her tone as she threw her blankets over her form and turned away from Yang.

“Night Ruby.” Yang replied with amusement still in her voice as she laid back on her bed. Her conversation with Ruby allowed her to push the negative thoughts away, allowing sleep to finally overcome her as Yang’s thoughts were now filled with a certain dark haired cat faunus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the shorter chapter but I wanted to procrastinate just a tad bit longer before things get… Angsty? Dark? It’s one of the two honestly, they’re both the same to me… Again let me throw out the disclaimer in advance that I do not enjoy causing pain to this beloved ship, so be sure to bring your emotional support kits for the next several chapters! 
> 
> Side note, I really enjoy writing Ruby-Yang interactions. Like, they give me the giggles with how much I enjoy it... Until next week!


	17. The Squeak-uation

Blake had quickly formed something of a mourning routine for herself while staying with Yang's family. Of course, she had spent her first day being a near nervous wreck as she was introduced to both Taiyang and Ruby. Though as pleasant as they turned out to be, Blake found certain habits hard to break. Such as her morning need for tea as she currently waited for her water to boil as she loaded some coffee grounds into the coffee maker. 

She smiled as she remembered Taiyang strolling into the kitchen the next morning around eight, only to find that Blake had been sitting at the kitchen table reading since she awoke at six. She had been patiently waiting for someone to wake up in order to ask for permission to make herself some tea which caused Tai to laugh long and hard about it. Causing no small amount of embarrassment on Blake’s part before he ushered assurances to the novelist that she was allowed to help herself to the kitchen whenever she liked. Just so long as she didn’t burn down the house that is.

The two of them had chatted for a bit afterwards that morning as Tai made breakfast while they waited for the others to wake up. Though the conversation was kept at a friendly tone, Blake knew that it was the ‘interrogation’ that Yang had warned her about on the ferry as most of the conversation was him asking her various questions. Like how she and Yang met for instance. Blake had given him a heavily abbreviated version of their actual first meeting, among other questions. Once the older blonde seemed satisfied Tai had confided in Blake that he was surprised he hadn’t witnessed the two of them kiss yet, causing Blake to nearly spit out her tea. After sputtering a bit, she was able to tell him flatly that it was because she was very private when it came to showing certain levels of affection and left it at that. Thankfully he hadn't pried further.

After laughing at her expense a bit more, including a few terrible tea jokes, Tai shared a few embarrassing stories of both his daughters when they were younger. The story he shared of Yang stomping around the house as a child while wearing a bear onsie to try and scare her sister being Blake’s favorite. By the time Yang had strolled into the kitchen an hour or so later, still clad in her sleepwear with her hair a wild golden display of bed head, Blake was fairly certain she had passed the parental test.

The third morning was almost the same as the second. Blake had woken up at six but had taken up Tai’s permission and helped herself to some tea. Thus beginning her new morning routine as she had also started to make a pot of coffee. A well received gesture, considering that the rest of the household drank the stuff nearly religiously. Surprisingly, that morning it was Yang who woke up next. She had shuffled into the kitchen and downed a cup of coffee without saying so much as a ' _good morning_ ' before walking back out to the living room and began to workout. Later Yang had informed Blake the she tends to work out every other day but still... A little warning would have been nice! Blake was _totally not_ prepared to bare witness to Yang going through several sets of pushups, situps and squats. The sight had caused Blake to become a bright shade of red as she couldn’t stop herself from staring every few seconds.

She just about died when Tai had walked in and made some comment to Yang that they had a garage gym for a reason. Yang just laughed and waved him off, saying something like “But then my girlfriend wouldn’t get her morning show” as she grabbed some water out of the fridge. All the while shooting Blake one of her flirtatious winks. By that point Blake was convinced that Yang was actively trying to kill her by means of embarrassment.

Besides that, the days had past in a domestic kind of blur. Blake would be the first one up, making tea for herself and coffee for everyone else, followed by either Tai or Yang a few hours later who would then make breakfast. Ruby was always the last to rise, having a habit of sleeping in until the smell of food drew her from the depths of her bedroom looking like a zombie until she downed no less than two cups of sugar with a bit of coffee added in. Blake would grimace at the sight but she could relate to the younger woman’s plight, remembering all too well what it was like to be a college student herself. Needless to say she did not miss the sleepless nights and long study sessions.

After breakfast, she would help Yang with dishes and then spend the afternoon _attempting_ to help out around the house. That is before Tai would put his foot down and tell Blake, yet again, that guests aren’t allowed to do house work. So Blake would alternate between either reading or writing before Yang would seek out her company for some quality ‘girlfriend’ time. Which really was just Yang either watching Blake work or they would read together. Sometimes they talked, usually about what Blake was currently working on or about the upcoming events, especially if Weiss had sent an email regarding new details or developments on a certain event. Otherwise Yang would share stories with Blake. It was during one of her stories that Yang had learned that Ruby and her were actually half sisters. Yang's own biological mother having divorced Tai when she was barely a toddler and Ruby's mother, whom Yang adamantly stated was her _real_ mother, had unfortunately passed away from cancer before the two sisters entered middle school.

Which was why Tai was so big on spending time together as a family in the evenings. So after dinner they would either watch a movie, or play board games together. Blake enjoyed it most when they played Uno, as she was reminded of her own family playing it during their own game nights. Only with Yang’s family there were far more brutal tactics and cutthroat maneuvers followed by loud declarations of impending demise. Last night for instance things had gotten heated between Yang and Tai when they tied in points that the night ended with an impromptu arm wrestling match to settle the score.

With it now being Wednesday, the morning had started out much the same as the others. Blake had just finished pouring her water into a mug along with a bag of tea before going over to sit at the kitchen table. The coffee machine already hard at work making its own brew as the dark liquid dripped into the glass pitcher. Her laptop was already set up on the table, ready and waiting for Blake to eagerly start working considering she wouldn’t have much more time to write as much due to her future schedule being hectic. She and Yang would be leaving to go back to Vale Friday afternoon, followed by her book signing all afternoon on Saturday. And after that she would need to start planning her trip to Haven with Weiss, so that meant several days worth of meetings at the very least. Granted Blake was ahead of her writing schedule but still, knowing her friend and publisher there would be no excuse if she were to slack off and somehow fall behind before her due date arrived.

She had just pulled up her manuscript on her laptop when she heard a squeak from the living room. Almost on reflex Blake's ears flattened. _‘Zwei is awake, joyful…_ ’ The one downside to being with Yang's family thus far had been interacting with the family pet. Blake had come into a ‘arrangement’ of sorts with the corgi, she would let him out in the morning for him to do his business. That is unless someone else was awake in which she would gladly let them do it. Otherwise she might give the corgi the odd pat on the head or two, anything more and she was needing either Ruby or Yang to intervene. Otherwise they ignored each other and that was fine by her.

It’s not like she _disliked_ Zwei, he was rather adorable… When he was sleeping… And in his dog bed... On the other side of the living room _far away_ from her.

One night Yang had taken an infinite amount of amusement, and pictures, when Zwei had managed to curl up previously unseen next to Blake on the couch while they were watching a movie before falling asleep with his head in her lap. Blake didn’t find it amusing, not one bit. The dog drooled in his sleep!

So needless to say, when another squeak sounded from the living room, Blake was set to ignore it as it was most likely just Zwei playing with his mountain of toys. Well, probably just the hamburger toy Ruby had picked up for him yesterday, seeing as it was the only toy the dog had at his disposal that made noise of any sort.

When the squeaking got closer Blake felt her ears flatten further. She really hoped that he wasn’t trying to bring her the toy to play with. She _did not_ want to handle _any_ object covered in drool before she even had her first cup of tea. Or her first pot of tea for that matter. Scratch that, she didn’t want to handle a drool covered toy _ever_.

Looking up from her laptop she spotted Zwei peeking around the kitchen entrance. He looked like he was smiling at her, tongue lolling out of his mouth with his ridiculously huge corgi ears perked up. “Good morning Zwei…” Blake greeted dryly as she brought her cup up to her lips, intending to take a sip when Zwei barked his own good morning. The sound however caused Blake to pause and stare down at him, eyes wide in confusion. She blinked a few more times while she tried to decide if she had heard that right or if she was just going crazy. “Zwei?”

“Squeak!”

_‘Okay that’s new… Are dogs suppose to do that?’_ Blake looked as her tea before looking back at the corgi. When he squeak-barked at her again, Blake knew she wasn’t imagining it and stood up.

\---

Yang was slowly brought to consciousness by someone saying her name. The voice was familiar sounding even though they spoke in harsh whispers. What fully woke her was that same someone was shaking her shoulder. They were gentle pats at first, before growing in urgency, and ultimately ended with violently shaking Yang awake. When she finally managed to blink her sleep heavy eyes open, Yang was greeted by a seemingly glowing pair of golden eyes.

Only two things prevented Yang from making some sort of startled sound at the sight. One: Thanks to the pale morning light filtering through the curtains she was able to just _barely_ make out Blake’s form. Second: Blake had covered Yang’s mouth with her hand.

“ _Bwake_?”

“I’m sorry Yang, I didn’t know who to go to but... Something is wrong with Zwei.” Her voice was kept low, mostly likely in order to not disturb Ruby, as she removed her hand away from Yang's mouth and stood back away from the bed. Yang sat up against the headboard with a puzzled look on her face.

“What’s wrong with Zwei?” Her voice was still thick with sleep as she tried to pull her blanket closer to her. Not in any form of modesty, she was the sort of person who was largely confidant in her body even though she was wearing a tank top. But she was acutely aware that her prosthetic was sitting on the nightstand next to her.

“You’ll see… I’ll meet you downstairs.” And with that Blake turned and silently padded out of the room.

Yang didn’t waste time in throwing her blanket aside and swinging her legs off the bed, reaching for her prosthetic. Unlike Blake, Yang hadn’t bothered trying to keep quiet, knowing full well that Ruby wouldn’t wake for anything short of small exchanges of nuclear warfare or perhaps the smell of food, _especially_ freshly baked cookies.

Clicking her arm into place Yang flexed the prosthetic fingers a few times to test the connectivity out of habit, but it felt… Off. She watched with scrunched brows as the fingers sluggishly followed her sensory commands. _‘Damn thing probably just needs a tune up… I’ll worry about it later.’_ She thought with a mental shrug as she proceeded to dig out a sports bra to throw on before meeting Blake downstairs.

Padding downstairs clad in her orange tank top and black boy shorts with a lazy gait, Yang found Blake waiting for her at the bottom step. The faunus’s arms were crossed and her cat ears were tilted back as she stared down at Zwei who was sitting at her feet like he was expecting a treat.

“Sooo, what’s this about something being wrong with Zwei? He looks-”

“Squeak!”

Yang immediately snapped her gaze down to look at the corgi for a few seconds before facepalming.

_‘Oh no… He didn’t…’_ Yang rubbed her face for a bit before giving the dog a stern look. “Zwei… Did you eat one of your toys again?” She asked with exasperation. The corgi squeak-barked again, almost as if he was proud of himself. And just to confirm her suspicion Yang marched into the living room and sure enough, there was a massacre of plastic toy bits in Zwei’s play corner.

_‘Yup… He did.’_ Yang sighed as she stared at the mess with her hands on her hips. “You know, I told Ruby this would happen…” She shook her head as she lightly kicked at one of the larger remains of the once hamburger shaped dog toy with her foot.

“This has happened before?” Blake asked as she came to inspect the scene next to Yang.

“Yup. This is why we don’t buy him toys that make noise. Let alone squeak.” Yang shook her head at the scene before her while running her left hand through her blonde mane. “When Ruby and I were at the store yesterday she had insisted that he needed a new toy and picked this one solely because we were having hamburgers for dinner. I warned her that Zwei would literally eat it, but would she listen? _Nope_!”

Blake gave a slow nod. “ _Ah_ … So that’s what you two were bickering about over dinner?”

“Yup.” Yang let the ‘p’ pop. Really, her sister should have remembered all the times they brought home some squeaky toy only to find it destroyed or in pieces by the next morning. Tai had stepped in during their argument, ending it by saying that it would be fine considering Zwei was older now and not some teething puppy.

Yeah Yang was gonna have fun shoving this in both of their faces as the ultimate ‘told you so.’

“Whelp, time to give dad and Ruby a rude awakening…” With a single nod Yang scooped up Zwei, as he had come to sit next to her at some point. As she picked him up his tiny corgi tail started to wag happily, making small squeaking noises as he panted with his tongue lolling out of his mouth as Yang carried him under one arm.

Knowing that Blake watched her trudge back up the stairs, Yang would neither confirm nor deny that she may have put a bit of extra sway to her hips.

\---

“Alright I just gotta find my keys and we’re good to go. Yang, are you sure that you two don’t want to come along?” The sound of concern in Tai’s voice caused Yang to roll her eyes as she watched him finish tugging on his jacket.

“Dad, for the last time, Blake and I are two fully grown women who are capable of being responsible. We’ll be fine.” She crossed her arms as she leaned against the wall. Besides she highly doubted Blake would be interested in sitting in a lobby full of people and their pets for who knows how long.

Tai made a show of patting his pockets in a poor ‘attempt’ at trying find his keys. Knowing full well that they were hanging on the key rack directly behind him the entire time. “Yeah well, Ruby and I will be gone for a few hours and I don’t know how I feel about leaving the two of you alone. In fact, why don’t you come along instead of Ruby? She could stay-”

The older blonde was cut off by both of his daughters saying ‘ _NO_ ’ simultaneously, causing Tai to raise a brow at the both of them. “Dad look, I bought the toy even though Yang told me not to. So I should take care of my mistake okay.” Ruby's declaration of responsibility was followed up by Zwei, currently sitting next to the younger sibling on his leash, barking out a squeak of what sounded like agreement. Or maybe that was just how Yang perceived it. Zwei could just very well be barking out nonsense in order to be included in the conversation for all she knew.

“As much as I’m glad to hear that you are taking responsibility over the situation Ruby, I’m just not sure if I’m comfortable leaving Yang and Blake home alone. What if the get _bored_?”

Yang scoffed loudly, already tired of being treated like a teenager and not like the twenty seven year old that she is. Pushing off the wall she purposely walked over to Blake, who until then had been sitting silently at the kitchen table with a cup of tea, and wrapped her arms around the faunus’s shoulders from behind. “Dad seriously, you make it sound like you’re more concerned about Blake and I having sex while you and Ruby are gone. Well news flash, _we’re adults_. And if we decide that we want to have wild kinky sex while you’re gone cause we’re _bored_ , then you can’t stop us.” Yang knew she may have crossed a line as she felt Blake tense under her arms, but she was too busy having a stare down with her father.

Blake interrupted the moment by clearing her throat, turning her head slightly so that Yang could see her profile. “Actually, I’m a bit behind on my manuscript so I intend to work most of the day.” Blake then reached up with one hand and patted Yang on the cheek, a smile tugging on her corner of her lips. “Sorry dear but like you said, I’m a grown woman who is capable of being responsible.”

Yang couldn’t help but stare at Blake with an astonished look. She... Did she just have her own words used against her? By Blake? _Holy Oum_ Blake totally gave her sass! She was vaguely aware of Ruby snickering loudly followed by Tai barking out his own laugh. “Ha! I knew there was a reason I liked you! Well, I guess Ruby and I will take our leave then. We’ll call you guys when we get there okay.”

The sound of the door closing jarred Yang from her momentary haze as she shook her head lightly, still too stunned over how attractive she thought it was to have Blake _sass_ her. Seriously, the list of reasons why she was attracted to Blake kept growing! Like, to the point where she could write a book even. A small one currently, but she was pretty sure if she had a few years it would be an encyclopedia for sure! Before she could compliment Blake, the faunus turned around in her chair and poked Yang hard in the ribs. “ _Ow_ -Hey! Why can’t you just smack me like Pyrrha does?” Yang was quick to move out of Blake's poking distance, sitting herself in the chair opposite of the faunus.

The writer gave a delicate shrug of her shoulders before picking back up her tea and sipped it before looking at Yang over the rim. “It seems more effective.”

Yang couldn’t help it, she snickered. Slowly at first before it turned into laughter bubbling up out of her at full force. The sound echoing throughout the kitchen before Blake's own, more subdued laughter, joined hers.

\---

_“So according to the x-rays, the squeaker can be removed by getting Zwei to cough but like,_ of course _he’s being difficult about it. So dad and I have to wait a whole_ friggen _hour for the specialist to arrive to knock Zwei out so they can pull it out.”_

“Well at least he’ll be _squeaky_ clean afterwards…” Yang chuckled as she heard Ruby groan at the pun.

Yang had decided to call Ruby for an update after taking a shower. They had been gone for several hours now, which really wasn’t a cause for concern considering Tai lived almost forty-five minutes away from town. But since it was nearing lunchtime Yang had called them to see if it was feasible for them to bring home something to eat to save herself the hassle of cooking. Given the update Ruby had just given her though, it looked like Yang was stuck with cooking anyhow.

_“Seriously you and dad are terrible punsters.”_

“You’re just jealous cause you suck at it.” Yang chuckled again when Ruby made a noise that sounded vaguely like a sputtering angry chipmunk.

_“I do not! It’s just not as easy as you and dad make it seem!_ Whatever _, don’t you have a girlfriend you can go bother instead of me?”_ With Ruby sounding exasperated, Yang found it all too easy to tease her sister further.

She hummed thoughtfully into the receiver for a second. “ _Weeellll_ , I just got done ‘ _bothering_ ’ her. Buuuuut I suppose I could go _bother_ her again if you really insist.” Yang made sure that her emphasis on the word sounded just as suggestive as the rest of her tone.

She was instantly rewarded by a very flustered sounding Ruby. _“Ew-_ Gross _! I_ did not want _that imagery Yang! What is wrong with you that wasn’t- I didn’t- I meant like playing video games or-or_ GAH _! I’m hanging up now!_ BYE _!!”_ Yang laughed as Ruby abruptly ended the call.

“Worth it.” She said to no one, she was in her room after all. Blake was still in the living room last she checked, typing away on her laptop. Setting her scroll aside Yang stretched before hunting for some pj bottoms. After her shower, Yang had managed to dress herself in a loose fitting orange tank top and underwear before becoming distracted with calling Ruby. After successfully donning on a pair of black and yellow striped pajama pants, Yang turned to where her prosthetic sat on the nightstand with a stern expression.

The damn thing had been acting strange all morning, causing Yang an increasing amount of stress and anxiety over it to. She had it plugged in currently, hoping that her time spent in the shower would give the mechanical limb enough juice to function properly. Assuming that was issue anyway. Well, the three lights on the side of the forearm were at least all lit up, indicating that it was fully charged. Putting it on however Yang noticed that it still had a slower than normal reaction time when she clenched her fist a few times.

Her frown deepened as she stared at the yellow painted fingers sluggishly followed her commands. _‘Maybe Ruby could see what’s wrong with it when she gets back… Giver her a chance to use her fancy college degree and whatnot.’_ She thought as she flexed the hand a few more times before sighing frustratingly. Putting it from her mind for now, Yang decided to make her way downstairs in pursuit of food before her stomach could start grumbling.

Yang lazily strolled downstairs, pausing once she reached the bottom step to take a moment to just stare at Blake. The faunus was currently sitting with her legs crossed on one side of the couch looking utterly adorable in Yang's personal opinion. She was clad in just pair of sweats, with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail with her glasses perched on her nose. Her golden eyes completely focused on her laptop as Yang could hear Blake typing rapidly at her keyboard. Yang silently watched Blake for a few minutes, finding it attractive how she would nibble on her lower lip in thought or occasionally reach up to adjust her glasses as she typed.

When Blake paused in her typing long enough to reach for her tea, she finally noticed Yang’s presence. “Is everything alright Yang?”

_‘Whoops… I was totes caught staring like a creeper.’_ Clearing her throat Yang tried her best not show her embarrassment and tried to speak with her more usual bravado. “Yeah, I just spoke with Ruby. She said Zwei is being a little drama queen at the vet’s office, so her and dad will be gone for another couple of hours at least because they have to wait for the specialist to arrive.” Yang pushed away from the wall and started to stroll towards the kitchen. “Now I don’t know about you but I’m starving. So I’m gonna see what we have and whip up some grub, interested?”

The way Blake’s ears always perk at the mention of food never ceases to cause Yang to smile from a mixture of amusement and… Well just amusement really. It’s almost like how Ruby would perk up at the mention of baking cookies or muffins. Cute. But since she was talking about Blake it was just plain adorable.

“Sure, would you need help with anything?” Blake was already trying to set aside her laptop before Yang stopped her with a wave of her hand.

“Nah, you can continue working Blake. Besides, I just might end up making sandwiches or something. Not exactly rocket science.” Yang shot Blake a wink as she walked into the kitchen, but not before she caught sight of the small smile Blake gave her in return. _Oum_ was Yang such a sucker for those tiny smiles of hers.

Pausing in the middle of the kitchen with her hands on her hips, Yang pursed her lips in thought as she mentally went over her possibilities for food-stuffs. She knew they had bacon left over from this morning’s breakfast to make a couple of BLT’s. So that was one possibility. Or she could be lazy and just make pb & j’s. _‘Nah that would be too lazy of me. I wonder if dad has any lunch meat left over…’_ Yang's stomach growled at the thought of turkey bacon sandwiches. _‘Yup, that sounds like a winner!’_ She hummed excitedly to herself as she walked over to the refrigerator.

Without really thinking about it, Yang reached for the refrigerator with her right hand and waited for the metal digits of her fingers to fully wrap around the handle before pulling back. When Yang was met with a severe lack of resistance she was caught off guard and nearly fell backwards from the force of the movement. “What the- I could have sworn I grabbed…” Confused, Yang gave the refrigerator door handle a puzzling look.

What she saw however caused her heart to beat faster as a feeling of vertigo swam through her vision. As if not believing what she was seeing was true she looked down at her right arm, the sight causing Yang to start breathing heavily as panic started to seize hold of her.

Yang wasn’t fully aware that she had walked backwards until her hip had connected with the kitchen counter. The sudden contact somehow tipping Yang’s anxiety over and shatter her hair-thin composure as she gave into a wave panic and fear, barely conscious to the fact that she had started to scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m just gonna retreat back into the safety of this here dark corner of my writing dungeon. I hope the bars of my cell door are sturdy enough to keep those upset over the cliffhanger at bay long enough until I post the next chapter in like... late May/June.. (>_>);
> 
> Okay I would LOVE to post next week but the thing is, Comic con is in a few weeks and Tux is behind on their outfit and can't really look over my writing AND make cosplay stuffs at the same time. On the plus side I'M BEING ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE DUNGEON FOR A BIT!! WOOOOOT!!!! I mean *AHEM* I'm not leaving this dungeon! Who said that! I'm being given an extended period of time to write the next several chapters! Yeah... That... (O.O');
> 
> Until then if you're bored and/or want to look at pictures I'll be updating stuffs on my tumblr- caniusproductions.tumblr.com
> 
> EDIT: HOLY CRAP I was at work and noticed that NONE of my edits made it into the posted chapter because I posted, LIKE AN IDIOT, the wrong version. So that's been fixed. Please enjoy the newly edited version of this chapter that has less typos and more Yang being shamelessly flirtatious. The ending is still the same so don't mind me as I feed off your comments like the true chaotic-neutral that I am. >:3


	18. The Skeletons in the Closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG GUYS!! Tux and I had a blast at comic con!! We even got to meet some of the RWBY voice actresses!! And now with that over and done with, I've been thrown back into the writing dungeon! So here, have a extra long chapter for those that have been waiting patiently.
> 
> ALSO: Trigger warnings for mentions of violence and suicide.

“Nah, you can continue working Blake. Besides, I just might end up making sandwiches or something. Not necessarily rocket science.” Blake felt herself smiling slightly as Yang shot her a wink and disappeared into the kitchen.

Pulling her laptop back into her lap, she re-positioned herself on the couch and resumed her typing. Since that morning Blake had been able to write a fair amount and felt confident that she would be able to finish her manuscript well before its intended deadline. Which was good considering she already had another story idea in mind.

Reaching up to adjust her glasses Blake reviewed her last paragraph, making a few adjustments when the sound of screaming suddenly came from the kitchen. It was so abrupt and so terrified sounding that it caused Blake to jump, quickly followed by her shoving her laptop onto the coffee table and ripping her glasses off to toss them carelessly onto her keyboard before bolting for the kitchen.

“Yang! What-” Blake’s socks caused her to skid slightly on the hardwood floor when she caught sight of Yang. The blonde had backed herself against one of the counters and was staring down at her prosthetic with a look of sheer horror. It took Blake a second longer to realize why.

The hand was missing from it.

Looking around frantically Blake easily spotted the brightly colored hand still clutching the door handle to the fridge. Rushing over to it Blake tried prying the fingers loose, but the yellow and black digits refused to budge despite her best efforts. _‘What do I do?’_ She thought furiously with her ears pinned back. As she whipped back around towards Yang, she noticed the blonde was whimpering now and visibly close to hyperventilating as tears streamed down her face as she stared down at her broken prosthetic.

_‘How do I help her? What am I even supposed to do in a situation like this?’_ Blake thought, caught between her urge to try and help her friend or call for help. But who would she call? She didn’t have Pyrrha or Juane’s number, nor did she have a way to contact Ruby or Taiyang. And seeing how Yang wasn’t in the right mindset to tell Blake anything, she was on her own.

Approaching Yang slowly, Blake stopped just short of touching the still panicking woman. “Yang…” She said slowly, speaking in a soothing voice much like Yang had during Blake’s own panic attacks. “Yang, look at me. Could you look at me please?” Blake tried to keep her voice calm sounding even though it was difficult given how much the situation scared her.

When Yang didn’t comply, still looking down at her arm and choking back sobs from how hard she was crying, Blake reached out slowly in effort to not startle the blonde. Her intention was to cup Yang’s cheek or jaw, she wasn’t sure which, however the instant her fingers ghosted over Yang’s jawline she jerked violently away from Blake. The sudden movement caught Blake off guard, retracting her hand back almost fully as if she was burned. She wasn’t sure what disturbed her more, Yang’s wild lilac eyes that are now staring at her or the fact that she seemed to stare _through_ her like she wasn’t even there.

“I’m f-fine… Do-don’t let them s-stop the match. I’m fine…” Yang began to mutter. Even to her faunus hearing Yang was so quiet as she repeated the words over and over.

Blake’s eyes widened as she realized that Yang wasn’t just having just a panic attack, but a full blown PTSD episode. This was bad, really _really_ bad. _‘I don’t think a grounding exercises will be enough… How do I help her? And did she fight? What fight?’_ Blake took in a deep breath as she nodded, more for herself then any other reason. _‘Right, because she thinks she’s somewhere else. But where? And how do I bring her back?’_ Blake worried at her lower lip as she rapidly thought of what to do. “Yang…” She suddenly had difficulty speaking around the thick lump in her throat as she tried again, still trying to keep her voice calm. “Yang, where are you, what's going on?”

It took a moment for Yang to answer the question as her eyes darted across the room before looking back confusedly at the writer. “The b-boxing ring… Coach p-please...” Yang’s voice trembled, sounding almost pleading. This time when Blake gently reached up to cup Yang’s cheek, she didn’t flinch or pull away, allowing Blake to wipe at the tears still streaming from lilac eyes with her thumb. “I can still f-fight coach. P-please, I’m okay I swear…”

Blake found herself blinking back her own tears seeing Yang, someone that she cared deeply about, being in so much emotional pain. “Shhh, it’s okay Yang. I know you’re strong but the fights over okay? Just, just relax for a bit and take a deep breath alright?” Again she tried her best to sound reassuring but Yang was already shaking her head at her words.

“N-no the match just started! It-it can’t be over I… P-please…” Yang tried to move Blake’s hand away from her face, succeeding only when Blake moved to wrap her arms around the blondes broad shoulders and hugged her tightly instead.

“Yang please…” Blake was at a loss for words as she buried her face into Yang’s shoulder. She smelt of soap and coconut shampoo, but underneath was the same warm vanilla scent that she caught the first time they had hugged. “Please Yang, come back to me please.” She begged. It felt like hours to Blake as she held Yang’s trembling form against hers before feeling the blonde slowly wrap her left arm around her middle, hugging Blake closer to her as their bodies became flush with one another.

The two of them stood like that for several minutes, the only sound coming from Yang as her breathing finally started to even out before eventually the blonde let out a long shuddering sigh. Practically sagging into Blake’s embrace though her own hold on the writer remained firm.

“Yang, are you… Where are you now?” Blake asked tentatively with her face still buried in Yang’s shoulder, both scared and hopeful of the answer.

She felt Yang rest her forehead heavily on Blake’s shoulder when she spoke, her voice sounding tired and strained. “With you...” Blake nodded, feeling relief wash over her as she broke their embrace by taking a small step back. Moving her hands to rest on Yang’s shoulders while the blonde kept her head hung low with her hand still on Blake’s hip.

“How are you feeling?” She felt stupid for asking but Blake didn’t know what else to say. Like, what was she even supposed to do now? It appeared the worst of Yang’s panic attack was over, but was it _completely_ done with? She really only ever had experience with her own panic attacks and Blake knew better then to foolishly think that they were are all the same.

Thankfully when Yang looked at her, there was no sign of the far off look that she had a moment before. Instead her eyes were red and puffy from her crying and made her look tired as Yang took a deep breath before speaking. “Tired… Hungry… And I ache all over. My arm more so.”

Blake didn’t need to ask which arm she had meant. Gently moving her hand down Yang’s right arm and stopping on Yang’s bicep, she rubbed light circles with her thumb slightly above where the prosthetic met flesh. “Do you… Would taking this off help? I mean you don’t have to but- Sorry. I’m just trying to be helpful.” She felt her ears droop with the thought that her suggestion would have the opposite effect that she had initially intended. Fearing that it would somehow spiral the former kickboxer into another episode.

The silence that met Blake’s question stretched for several seconds that felt more like minutes. Long enough that Blake began to doubt herself before Yang gently nodded her head as she slightly raised her right arm out towards Blake. “Just, twist to your right and pull…” She even reached over with her left hand and guided Blake’s fingers down to where she needed to grab. It didn’t escape the faunus’s notice that Yang’s hand trembled slightly once she pulled her hand away.

Grabbing the prosthetic in both hands near the elbow, Blake did as instructed. The artificial limb made a small click noise when she gave it a firm twist and with the barest of pulls it easily separated from Yang's arm entirely. Admittedly she was slightly caught off guard on how light the arm was, expecting it to weigh more, but Blake wasn’t able to inspect the brightly colored arm much more than that as Yang wobbled on her feet. Barely catching herself on the kitchen counter behind her.

“Woah, easy! Here let me just-” Quickly, Blake side stepped away from Yang to place the prosthetic on the kitchen table before going back to place herself closer to Yang's left side.

“Sorry, just… I’m fine, I just need to sit down for a bit.” There was a roughness to her voice that told the novelist that she was far from fine, but she wasn’t going to comment on it at this precise moment.

Gingerly wrapping her arm around Yang’s waist, Blake took the blondes own arm and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Okay, we can go sit on the couch then, and I’ll make some food afterwards. Okay?” The only confirmation she got was a few bobs of Yang’s head as they headed over to the couch, where the former fighter bonelessly flopped down onto the cushions.

It would have been comical if it wasn’t for the worry that still gnawed at the pit of Blake’s stomach.

Ensuring that her friend was settled on the couch, Blake turned back towards the kitchen before Yang’s voice, rough sounding but steady, stopped her. “Blake...?”

“Yes Yang?”

Yang looked tired, exhausted even as her head lolled to the side in order to look at the faunus, though the small smile she gave Blake was somehow full of gratitude. “Thanks…”

Blake returned the smile with a certain amount shyness. “You don’t need to thank me Yang. By comparison you’ve done more for me. It’s the least I could do.”

“Mmmm...” Yang hummed thoughtfully. “Doesn't mean you’re any less amazing.”

Well, that certainly got Blake’s smile to widen just a fraction. And perhaps cause her to blush slightly as she ducked her head and continued towards the kitchen without further comment.

Needless to say Blake didn’t feel comfortable leaving Yang alone for too long, so she hastily slapped together a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. They looked terrible. Cutting them into diagonal halves made them look even more so. But Blake only cared about their edibility instead of presentability as she piled them onto a plate and brought them out to the living room.

Yang even teased her about using wheat bread as she accepted a triangle half and ate it slowly. Blake took that as a good sign.

They were silent while they ate. Blake kept glancing at Yang in the corner of her vision, trying to be discrete, and noticed that Yang looked tired. Like, _two-seconds-away-from passing-out-into-her-sandwich_ tired. Blake understood that kind of exhaustion. After one of her own panic attacks she was left with the same feeling and would often take a nap afterwards. And given the severity of the one Yang just went through, Blake imagined the feeling was tenfold.

_‘I wonder if she remembers any of it?’_ She mused as she finished off her last sandwich half, remembering that Yang had addressed her as her coach. Blake couldn’t even begin to fathom why though. Did they look the same or shared some resemblance? Well, she was about to find out. As much as Blake didn’t want to discuss what had happened, it was perhaps for the best to discuss it anyway. Besides, she reasoned that knowing more about Yang and her condition might just help her in the future if Yang ever had another episode. Though she certainly hoped not.

Worrying at her lower lip Blake waited for Yang to finish chewing the last portion of her sandwich before scooting closer to her on the couch. The movement drew Yang’s attention and she watched with tired eyes as Blake moved close enough to gently nudge Yang’s left shoulder with her own with a small “Hey.”

“Hey yourself…” Yang gently nudged Blake back, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corner of her lips.

Blake tilted her head slightly to look at Yang. “Do you want to talk about it?” She purposely asked in a way that offered the other woman a chance to say no. After all, despite how Blake felt about the situation and what had occured, that didn’t mean Yang was suddenly inclined to share.

Yang closed her eyes and let out a long exhale. “Not really but…” It was clear Yang was uncomfortable. The way she tried to subtly move away from Blake being a dead giveaway.

“But…” Blake repeated encouragingly.

Yang had turned slightly away from Blake, like she was trying to hide away from her despite sitting right next to each other. “But.. I don’t know Blake. I guess I’m just afraid you might treat me differently is all…” There was a underlying tone of pain to her voice that Blake knew all too well.

“You didn’t treat me any differently after hearing about that I was stabbed.” Blake countered as she tentatively reached for Yang’s left hand. It was clenched tightly into a fist but she was able to gently pry it open so she could hold the blondes hand with their fingers intertwined.

“Blake…” Yang’s eyes were still held shut as she spoke, shaking her head as her voice was tight and strained sounding.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. You _have_ changed in the way you treat me. But only when we’re in public.” When Yang hung her head then Blake knew her assumption had been right as she continued. “Like how you stand or place yourself in between me and other people. You act like a shield, something that I can hide behind and feel safe.”

“Blake…” Yang tried to interrupt, sounding like she wanted to argue and Blake was not going to have any of it. Not today at least.

“You go out of your way to make me feel safe. Am I wrong?” She tilted her face further down, trying to meet Yang’s eyes still hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair.

She watched as Yang bit her lower lip as she exhaled. “No.” The blonde had said slowly in a defeated sounding tone.

“See?” Blake squeezed Yang’s hand but her friend still wouldn’t meet her gaze. Blake wasn’t sure what to say after that as she let the silence fell between the two of them.

“So…” She practically drawled once the silence started to become unbearable. Blake drew in a deep breath and with it, as much courage as she could muster as she started to begin speaking. “You know about my first publisher. About a month or so after he had terminated my contract, I was contacted by an events coordinator looking for several authors to participate in a large book signing event. It was… Huge. At the time it gave me hope that I could continue with my dream. With being a writer.” Blake could see that she had Yang’s attention, the other woman's head still hung low but turned slightly to look at the faunus.

“There were a lot of people who had stopped by my booth and… It was nice, you know. Knowing that all the hateful things that he had spat in my face weren’t true. That there were in fact people who liked my book despite my heritage and everything. I ended up talking with everyone I could, even when the event drew to a close there was still a lot of people walking around the venue. I was caught up in a conversation with an older couple while everything was being packed away, so I never saw…” Blake paused to clear her throat, her words suddenly sticking to the back of her throat as her anxiety began to bubble up at recalling the memory.

“Someone had brushed past me from behind. I, I didn’t think anything of it because of how crowded it was but um… I-I suddenly felt pain and when I looked down I saw the blood staining my shirt…” She hadn’t realized she had started to shake until she felt Yang squeeze her hand.

“Take your time Blake. I’m not going anywhere.” Yang’s voice was so quiet as she gave another squeeze. “Take a deep breath and hold it for the count of three…”

_‘Gods, even after dealing with her own emotional turmoil she’s_ still _able to look after me…’_ Blake couldn’t help but give a weak smile as she did as instructed, completing the action several times.

Feeling calmer, Blake continued after one last exhale. “I ended up collapsing. If it wasn’t for the elderly couple I was talking to I may not have made it. She was a retired nurse and her husband was an old army medic. They kept me stable until the ambulance had arrived and rushed me to the hospital.”

She felt Yang grow tense sitting next to her. “Do you know what happened to the person who did it?” There was tightness to her voice that Blake had heard only once before, when they were still sitting in Pyrrha’s car getting ready to board onto the ferry headed for Patch. It was a tone that Blake was starting to associate with Yang’s protective side peeking through.

The writer shook her head. “They were never caught. When I was in the hospital the officer in charge of the investigation informed me that it was most likely a random act of racial hate.”

When Yang’s only response was to take in a slow deep breath, it left Blake with the impression that she was angry. Not angry at her, but _for_ her. Blake silently admitted that she hadn’t expected such a reaction from, well... Anyone really. Though she shouldn’t have been surprised after having gotten to know Yang for the better part of a couple of months. Yang apparently had zero tolerance for people being treated in such an off hand manner, especially those that she cared about.

It was one of many of Yang’s traits that Blake found honorable. She let go of Yang’s hand and scooted back to sit on the opposite side of the couch, back against the armrest and facing the still sullen looking blonde.

“Hey, come here.” The request finally had Yang fully look at her with a questioning look and a raised brow, but Blake could see the curiosity playing behind her lilac eyes. “You look like you could use a hug. And if not then I could use one.”

It had the intended effect as Yang smiled. It was small, but Blake would take what she could get at this point as she returned it with one of her own.

Yang had moved over until her back rested against Blake’s front, letting out a content sigh as the writer wrapped her arms around her shoulders and upper chest. “You know, this is more like cuddling instead of hugging right?”

“You know, you wouldn’t be able to stop me in this position if I decided to poke you right?” Blake shot back, earning a small laugh from the blonde.

“Oh no, I’m trapped. What ever shall I do?” Yang said sarcastically, earning several pinches to her shoulders and upper arms from Blake. The blonde had tried to squirm away from the retaliation but Blake had held onto her firmly. Effectively trapping the blonde in her arms. “Okay okay-Truce!” Yang announced, sounding more like her normal self as Blake smiled triumphantly behind her.

She felt Yang relax fully against her then, and Blake spent another minute just enjoying how warm Yang felt while idly stroking her thumbs against the blondes exposed shoulders. “Yang…” Blake quietly broke the comforting silence that started to form. “When I went into the kitchen after hearing you scream… I’m not going to lie, seeing you like that… It scared me Yang.” She felt Yang’s shoulders tense slightly under her touch as Blake continued to speak. “It scared me, because when you looked at me, it was like you weren’t seeing me. Like you were somewhere else. Do you… Remember any of it?”

Yang shook her head lightly before clearing her throat. “Did I um… Say anything strange?”

Blake worried at her lower lip for a moment, wondering if she should lie but decided against it. “You called me coach and told me that you were fine, that you could still fight. I had hoped that telling you the fight was over would snap you out of.. _whatever_ that was. But then you said the fight just started and... Yeah.” Blake took a deep breath then. Having Yang so close to her she received a lung full of her shampoo and natural scent.

She couldn’t help but seek out the comfort that Yang’s scent offered as Blake was just barely able to resist burying her face into the blondes neck. Instead she rested her chin on the the other woman's shoulder. “Yang, I know that this might not be pleasant to talk about. But I’m not like you. Whenever I have a panic attack you always seem to know what to do. Yet, seeing you virtually reliving a moment of your past I didn’t… I was at a loss of what to do. I just, I don’t know, I just think that if I knew what had happened to you I might know how to help in the future.”

At first Blake had thought that Yang wasn’t going to answer her, she was so quiet. Until Yang had let out a heavy sigh a moment later, reaching up with her one arm and running her hand through her blonde hair. “I’m sorry Blake. I haven’t had an episode like that in, well, years honestly. But my stupid arm…” Yang didn’t need to tell the writer which arm she was referring to as she paused briefly. “I knew it was acting funny ever since this morning but I didn’t think… _Anyway_ Ruby might have to look at it in order to fix it when she gets back.” She sighed again, sounding a bit defeated.

Yang tilted her head back against Blake in order to meet her gaze. Being this close to each other Blake could see small flecks of darker purple mixed in with the softer hues of lilac. She couldn’t help but stare, mesmerized until Yang’s voice broke the spell.

“Blake, are you sure you want to hear about how I got this?” Again, Blake didn’t have to ask which arm she was referring to but felt her raise her right stump briefly before letting it drop back down. “It’s not exactly a pleasant story to hear.”

Understanding the blondes need for hesitation Blake briefly tightened her hold around Yang’s shoulders in an offer of reassurance. “Is it just as pleasant as hearing about my own trauma?” She gently replied.

With a small huff, most likely out of amusement but without any emotion behind it, Yang turned her head to face the far wall. “Fair enough. Right well, as you could imagine, losing my arm was the end result of my last kickboxing match. The thing is, well… Me actually losing my arm was kinda overshadowed by everything that went down after the fight cause of that cheating _son of a_ -” Yang's voice raised in pitch before she abruptly paused, taking a deep shaking breath in an obvious effort to calm down.

Blake idly traced circles on Yang’s shoulders. “Maybe you should start from the beginning.” She prompted gently. When Yang shifted, Blake had thought she had overstepped herself. Perhaps being in this position was too much after all, but Yang had only brought her knees up as her head fell back against Blake once more, her gaze focused on the ceiling instead.

When she spoke next, Blake had almost missed what Yang had said, her voice was so quiet. “My last match, it was against this guy named Adam Taurus. He was bull faunus I think, though he could have been a goat for all I know. Either way, he was a nasty dude, full of hate and spite like I personally offended him by just _breathing_ the same air as him. I still don’t know what his problem with me was back then.”

Yang took a second to take a deep breath before exhaling slowly. “When we had our match, it was brutal. I opened up with a superman punch and he counters with some move I’ve never seen and got me in the forearm. That's when... I heard it, I heard the bones crack from the contact and it was... So _painful_. But I was stubborn, all I could think of was my perfect record at the time and not allowing this, this _punk_ to beat me. My coach noticed I was favoring my right arm but I kept telling him I was fine. It didn’t matter though, it was all downhill after that. I still lost by unanimous decision when the judges declared Adam the winner.” Yang rubbed at her face and shook her head, like the memory still caused her anger even after so many years.

Blake waited patiently for Yang to continue, never ceasing in the circles she drew into Yang’s skin with her thumbs.

“Then um…” She said after a moment, pausing to clear her throat. “After the announcement the fight commissioner, he took one look at my arm and called for an ambulance. By then my arm was all kinds of fun colors and I was done trying to put up a tough front. I just let the EMT’s cart me away without saying anything. And um…” As Yang’s voice wavered a bit from holding back tears. Blake tightened her hold around Yang, trying her best to convey comfort as best she could through the contact.

“The uh… The ambulance I was in, it barely made it halfway to the hospital before some… _Stupid_ truck driver blinded sided us. It was… It was bad Blake. The ambulance driver… He didn’t make it. And the EMT’s with me in the back were both injured while I was still strapped to the gurney…” Blake felt Yang start to shake as she started to cry silently. Blake herself felt her ears pin themselves back as she could only imagine the nightmare that must have been to live through.

Yang cried for a minute or two before taking unsteady breaths in effort to calm herself. Blake felt Yang reach up with her hand and without asking, she took it in her right hand and intertwined their fingers. “By the time I actually made it to the hospital I had developed a bone infection that was seeping bacteria into my bloodstream. So they had to amputate my arm.” She let out another shaky breath and so Blake squeezed her hand.

When Yang went quiet again Blake nudged her head with her cheek gently, almost affectionately even. “You mentioned that you losing your arm was overshadowed. Can I ask how?”

Yang scoffed, somehow making it sound full of bitterness as she returned Blake’s light squeeze of their joined hands. “Simple, the news had a bigger fish to fry. I was still in the hospital recovering from surgery when word got out that Adam had cheated. Not only did he dip his hand wraps in something to harden them, he also had a portion of the padding in his gloves removed. It was all people could talk about at the time.”

Blake liked to think she was a peaceful person, much like her father. But hearing that this person had intentionally caused physical bodily harm to someone she cared deeply about, and for what? Something so insignificant as to win a single fight? Well, Blake thought the term ‘ _Hell knows no fury like a woman scorned_ ’ was appropriately descriptive for how she felt.

“Do you know what happened to Adam after that?”

Yang hummed, the first sound she made that honestly sounded amused. “It’s okay Blake. He got what he deserved. Last I heard of him he was in prison for aggravated assault.”

“Good.” Blake huffed, feeling slightly better knowing she didn’t have to worry about how to get away with murder. At least for now.

“Blake, there’s more I want to tell you if... That’s okay.” Yang sounded hesitant of the faunus’s answer. Honestly if Yang was willing to further confide in Blake, she certainly didn’t see any reason to stop listening now.

“You can tell me anything Yang.” She answered honestly.

Yang had opened and closed her mouth several times before finding her words. “You have to understand Blake, I felt like I had lost everything back then. In the span of a single day I had lost my first match ever, I lost my arm and with it my career... And then my girlfriend broke up with me barely an hour after my surgery. She told me, to my face, that she couldn’t date someone like me.” Yang’s shoulders shook again, though Blake couldn’t tell if it was from withholding more tears or from some other emotion.

“If they didn’t want to date someone who’s as caring and thoughtful as you are, then they didn’t deserve you to begin with.” Blake found herself saying before she could stop herself. Thankfully it seemed liked the right thing to say as Yang bobbed her head.

“Yeah... Pyrrha told me something similar.” Yang sniffled a bit before continuing. “But at the time it didn’t stop me from contemplating suicide once I got out of the hospital.”

That... That was not something Blake _ever_ thought she’d hear someone say. Especially someone as bright as Yang, how carefree and, and… She felt herself grow rigid with her ears pulling back slightly. ‘ _Xiao-Long has practically been a ghost_. _Her once populated social media sites having been deleted..._ ’ The news article suddenly came to mind like Blake had read it that morning… Thinking how odd that comment had been at the time but now it made sense as Yang laid the pieces out for Blake to put together. Yang had most likely had been preparing to take her own life during that time.

The thought of never having the chance of meeting Yang… It weighed heavily in Blake’s chest. “What stopped you?” It was like forcing the words through a tube that was too small Blake felt so choked.

“Pyrrha actually…” She felt Yang squeeze her hand. The gesture reassuring the faunus that the robust blonde was still with her and not going anywhere anytime soon. “Like the awesome friend that she is, she saw through every lie I said about being fine and could tell that I was a complete mess and not getting better. So she gave me an ultimatum. Move in with her or she would tell Ruby what I was planning on doing.” Yang let out a long sigh then. “It’s funny looking back, I hadn’t taken that into consideration and no matter how old Rubes gets, she’s still my baby sis. So when Pyrrha said that I was like, ‘well shit, Ruby would cry if she found out. What kind of big sis would I be if I made her cry?’ So I moved in with Pyrrha.”

Blake hummed as she moved to rest her chin on Yang’s shoulder once more. “A wise decision. I might not have gotten the chance to meet you otherwise.” When she spoke, Blake realized a little too late that she had spoken softly and perhaps too close to Yang’s ear as she felt the blonde shudder. No doubt the proximity the two of them shared was starting to get to the faunus as he felt suddenly embarrassed. If she wasn’t effectively squished in between Yang and the arm of the couch she would have moved away in an attempt to put a polite distance between them.

Who was the trapped one now?

Feeling herself blush slightly, Blake halfheartedly contemplated making up some excuse to move. Such as returning back to her writing or perhaps use the bathroom, anything. But at the same time she was loath to give up Yang’s warmth.

“Hey Blake?” Yang’s voice startled Blake from her thoughts.

“Yes Yang?”

“Did you, um, like want me to move or anything?” Yang sounded shy all of a sudden as she finally removed her hand from Blake’s and rested it on her abdomen instead.

“Are you comfortable?” Blake knew her response had nothing to do with Yang’s original question, but the part of her that didn’t want to move was quickly winning her mental debate over if she should return to work or not. Her brain ultimately deciding that Yang’s answer would be the tipping point if Blake should move or not.

The blonde gave a nervous laugh. “Yeah. Maybe even _too_ comfortable actually cause honestly Blake I’m like, about to pass out on you. Like, _literally_.”

Blake hummed as she tightened her hold on Yang. “I wouldn’t mind. I seem to recall falling asleep on you. So it would only be fair.”

“Heh, well if I snore, consider it your fault for being so comfortable then.” Blake didn’t need to look at Yang’s face to tell that she was smiling as she relaxed fully against the writer. It caused a smile to creep unbidden onto Blake’s features as she closed her eyes and allowed the silence to stretch comfortably over the two of them. All the while still holding onto Yang around her broad shoulders as she slowly began to drift off to sleep

\---

“Ruby why don’t you go on ahead while I put Zwei in the backyard?” Tai had just barely put the car in park before turning in his seat towards the youngest member of the family. Not like she needed to be told twice considering she was eager to get inside and _finally_ dig into the take out containers that have been sitting in her lap for the last thirty minutes.

Seriously, only being able to _smell_ her food was _pure torture_ as her dad preferred not to have food consumed while in his car. Which made like, _no sense_ seeing as it as on it's last legs and dirty both inside and out. So once she was freed of her seat belt, Ruby practically made a mad dash for the front porch, slowing down only when she had reached the porch steps. The thought of tripping on one of the stairs and dropping her precious cargo was enough for the college student to exercise caution. Well, more like she had dropped food in such a way more than once in the past to know better.

Food still successfully in hand as she skipped into the house, Ruby was tempted to yell out a greeting but the words died in her throat as she entered the kitchen. There, attached to the refrigerator door handle was the unmistakable brightly colored hand of Yang’s prosthetic. The rest of the artificial limb rested on the table where Ruby sat the boxes of take out next to while trying not to mentally panic.

“Oh no…” Ruby felt her heart drop. All thoughts of hunger gone, replaced with the need to ensure that her sister was alright. She strained her ears but heard no noise related to crying or yelling as per normal for Yang’s panic attacks. Actually she heard nothing. Did she not have a panic attack? No that’s not possible, having her prosthetic do something like _this_ was sure to have set off her sisters PTSD. But where was she? Also, where was Blake?

_‘Okay new mission! Find Yang and Blake!’_ With her mind made up, Ruby set off to find her sister and her girlfriend… Which ended just as quickly as it had begun as the younger sibling entered the living room.

There on the living room couch was Yang, snoring softly as she was leaning back against Blake. The faunus had her arms wrapped protectively around her older sister with her face tucked into the crook of Yang’s neck.

The sight of the two of them allowed Ruby to relax before smiling widely to herself. Quietly she fumbled with her pants pockets a bit in order to pull out her scroll. _‘Seriously, girl pockets are the_ worst _! How are people supposed to use them if they’re not deep enough to hold anything or too tight you can’t pull anything out of them!?_ AH-HA _finally!!’_

Finally pulling out her scroll in silent victory, Ruby opened up her camera and proceeded to take a bazillion, (okay more like a few dozen), pictures of the adorable couple. In her haste to snag pictures before her dad ultimately ruined the moment, she had forgotten to turn off the sound. So after a few clicks, there was a twitch or two of Blake’s adorable kitty ears as the faunus slowly stirred awake. At first she slowly blinked her eyes at Ruby before turning a brilliant shade of red as her eyes widened. Of course Ruby took pictures of that as well cause why not?

Also because it was funny. Especially once Blake started to shake Yang awake. “Hmmm… _Wha_ \- I’m up I’m… Ruby? What are you doing?” Yang’s voice was rough with sleep as she slowly sat up, her eyes widening as she started to comprehend the mischief her younger sister was up to. All the while Ruby stood there doing a poor job of smothering her giggling as he continued to take pictures.

When Yang shot up from the couch Ruby was already off like a rocket, dodging and ducking around furniture to escape Yang’s wrath. “VICTORY IS MINE!!” She couldn’t help but declare loudly while laughing hysterically.

By the time Tai had walked inside, he was flabbergasted as he was greeted by the sight of Yang with a laughing Ruby in a headlock on the floor. All the while yelling at a confused and furiously blushing Blake to grab Ruby’s scroll as the younger sibling kept waving it out of the dark haired woman's reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We’ve seen enough (but not the last) of Blake having to deal with her own panic and anxiety attacks that it was high time to switch things up a bit. And I’m not going to lie, I felt like a terrible human being the entire time I wrote Yang being stuck in her PTSD episode. Seriously the condition is no joke, even when it’s just PTS. So I have a great deal of respect for those that deal with this condition on a daily basis. 
> 
> Also, I couldn’t resist ending it on a lighter note cause it gave me a chance to write Ruby getting up to little sister shenanigans. Because shenanigans…. 
> 
> **Also Also: I’d thought it’d be fun to get readers involved!!** What kind of interactions you would like to see our budding bees do or be involved in? Your suggestions will possibly be turned into mini chapters to help fill in the gaps of an upcoming time skip. For instance, would you all like more texting chapters? Perhaps a chapter through Weiss’s pov? Feed me your ideas! :D


	19. The Sitdown

Thankfully Ruby was in fact, able to put her college degree to good use and was able to fix Yang’s prosthetic arm in no time at all. Apparently, according to Ruby, the hand was forced out of alignment, most likely when Yang and Tai had gotten into their arm wrestling match the previous night. After that, Ruby theorized that continuous use had slowly encouraged the hand to come loose from it’s connection port within the wrist socket before ultimately being forced apart when Yang had tried opening the fridge.

Overall it was easily fixed. At least according to her. Thankfully if something like that ever happened again, Ruby showed both Yang and Blake how to fix it. Blake even took pictures of the process which, at first, confused Yang. The faunus admitted later that it would be easier than trying to remember Ruby’s technological instructions of _‘connect the metacarpal housing unit to the myoelectric sensor first,_ before _re-attaching it back into the telemetry and prosthesis control socket with a single twist.’_

Yang had kindly asked Blake to forward the pictures to her so that she could also have a copy of the process.

After that it was business as usual one would say. The last few days spent with the family came and went in a blur of activity. Tai took them all into town to play tourist and do a bit of sightseeing. Purely for Blake’s enjoyment he claimed, since she had never been to Patch.

At first Blake was nervous about it, her phobia of crowds was never fully disclosed save for what little Yang had told Ruby on their first night home. But Yang assured her that the downtown district of Patch was completely different than the one in Vale. Unless it was tourist season, which it wasn’t, or a parade was happening, and one wasn’t, then there wouldn’t be that many people, if any, out and about. And she was right.

They saw _maybe_ a handful of people walking along the downtown docks but other than that the only people they interacted with were the shopkeepers as they ventured from store to store, pursuing their various wares before moving onto the next one. At one point they walked into a store that contained various loose leaf tea in neat little containers that spanned the entire back wall. Yang had joked that they would be hard pressed to get Blake to leave the moment they walked in, and yet she wasn’t wrong. They were in there for nearly a _whole hour_ before Blake was able to finally make up her mind on a few select flavors to take home.

As they left the store Yang felt obligated to tease Blake about her tea addiction. The resulting poke to the ribs was especially hard but well worth it in her opinion.

Yang had enjoyed herself more once Tai took them to go sightseeing. Having grown up in the area, she couldn’t argue that Patch was filled with beautiful amounts of natural green forests with fresh air that the concrete jungle and smog filled air of Vale couldn’t compete with. Plus it gave her the perfect excuse to snap like, _a hundred_ pictures of Blake being adorable. She even updated the wallpaper on her scroll to a selfie she had taken of her and Blake with a waterfall behind them.

It was a nice enough picture, which was why she saved it. Though it wasn’t until later that night while Ruby was sharing the pictures she took of the two that Yang came into a sort of revelation.

Now, Yang knew she was hopeless but she never would have thought she was _lovestruck-puppy-level_ hopeless. Is that how she always looked at Blake? Well no wonder it was so easy for Pyrrha to tell! Annnnndddd most likely everyone else if Yang thought about it…

The thought stuck with her and carried over until Friday, when Yang and Blake were scheduled to leave to return to Vale. Tai of course was emotional about it because he _always_ is, while Ruby and Yang just rolled their eyes at their father's antics.

After one last afternoon spent with rushed goodbyes, parting sisterly noogies and one stressful ferry ride later, they were back in Vale. Really it was only the departure from the ferry that was stressful as downtown Vale was seemingly incapable of being void of hundreds of people. It took Yang much longer to get Blake to focus on something other than the surrounding people until Pyrrha’s car came into view like some glowing beacon of sanctuary sent by Oum himself.

Okay, that might have been just a tad bit of an exaggeration, but Yang would bet that was how Blake felt given how fast she had climbed into the back seat. After stowing their luggage in the trunk Yang slipped into the seat next to Blake, who sat in the middle as she made small conversation with Pyrrha.

“Sup Pyrrha, miss us?” Yang offered her friend a wide toothy grin as she casually wrapped her left arm around Blake’s shoulders. Pyrrha briefly glanced at her before her green eyes took notice of where her arm was resting.

Something crossed her friends features, too quick for the former fighter to tell what it was before she gave Yang a bright smile. “I only missed Blake. With you gone the house was quiet, so I was able to sleep like a baby all week.”

Yang tried to hide her smile and failed miserably. “Oh? So you woke up every hour screaming for attention? How was Jaune able to keep up with that?”

Pyrrha gasped with a shocked expression before turning even further in the driver's seat to look at Blake. “Smack her for me please. Preferably repeatedly. And _hard_.”

Blake hummed thoughtfully, before poking Yang in the ribs causing her to squirm away. She continued until Yang tried to open the door in order to escape but Pyrrha kept pressing the auto lock button effectively cutting off her escape until she pleaded for mercy.

It was completely worth it.

\---

“Got everything?”

“I think so, that is unless you left my suitcase in the car.” Blake gave her a tired looking smile as she deposited her laptop bag on her coffee table.

Yang snapped her fingers. “Darn, I actually think I left it in Patch. I knew we were forgetting something.” She joked. It was weak seeing that the suitcase was in clear view sitting next to the couch where Yang had set it when she escorted Blake into her home. Regardless the faunus’s soft laugh was worth it as she shook her head at her.

“I would have made you go back and get it.” Blake huffed as she sat heavily on her couch.

“Oh? One week with my family too much for you?” Yang cocked her hip against the back of the couch just behind where Blake sat, crossing her arms as she looked down to meet the faunus’s golden eyes.

“I thought your family was rather pleasant actually.” Blake said with a shake of her head before leaning back with a sigh. The smile she gave Yang then was small, but spoke volumes of how exhausted she was. “It’s just…”

When she didn’t continue, Yang laid a hand on the other woman's shoulder in a show of comfort. “The ferry ride there was too much huh?” Her inquiry was confirmed by the heavy sigh that followed.

“Yeah…”

_‘If ferry rides were trying, then the plane ride to Haven is going to be_ fun _…’_ She thought as she rubbed Blake’s upper back. Yang was admittedly worried about how they would be able to manage that. Well, at least it wasn’t for another two months. They had plenty of time to worry about it later. Tomorrow however was a different story.

“You gonna be okay with doing your book signing tomorrow?”

Blake offered her a small nod and another tired smile. “Yeah. You… Would you mind if I ask that you sit next to me again?”

Yang couldn’t help her exaggerated eye roll. “Oh yes, I mind _terribly_. Having to sit next to a beautiful woman for several hours? Oh my Gods that is just pure torture Blake how dare you even suggest that.” She joked before her brain fully caught up to what her mouth just said.

“Beautiful huh?” Blake had that tiny knowing smile again as Yang suddenly found herself mentally panicking as her cheeks blushed a bright pink.

“Um, well yeah, I mean… You _know_ …” Yang rubbed the back of her neck while awkwardly clearing her throat. _‘Smooth one you gay train wreck. Abort mission before you shove your foot any further into your mouth!’_ Standing, Yang slowly walked backwards towards the door. “Sorry, I guess I’m still in ‘ _girlfriend mode_ ’. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

Blake stood from the couch in a single lithe motion. “I’ll text you when I’m on my way to pick you up tomorrow.” She confirmed.

“Yeah, sounds good. I should go then, wouldn’t want to keep Pyrrha waiting. See ya tomorrow Blakey!” Yang made a hasty retreat out the door. It was awkward for sure as she barely heard Blake’s reply as she made a beeline to the red Ford that was still parked in the driveway. Just before she hopped into the passenger seat Yang made the mistake of looking back, seeing Blake still standing at her doorway. She gave Yang a small wave that the blonde unconsciously returned with a dopey smile before watching the writer turn, disappearing back into her home as the door slowly shut.

While buckling herself into the car, Yang caught sight of the expression Pyrrha shot her that had Yang mentally cursing several expletives she otherwise would never say out loud. “What? Why are you looking at me like I did something wrong?” She said instead.

Pyrrha pointedly ignored her until they were out of the driveway and back on the main road. “Oh, I’m sure you know. But you’re just gonna have to wait until we get home.”

“Joy…” She replied dryly. Of course she would spend a week with her family, her father setting boundaries and treating her like she’s 17 all over again just to come home to have her best friend scold her like a disapproving mother over something she has no clue about.

Well actually Yang was like, _ninety percent_ sure what it was about. ‘ _It_ ’ being a certain dark haired cat faunus whose house they just left. Sighing heavily Yang sat back in the passenger seat, watching the scenery pass her by in silence.

By the time Pyrrha pulled her car into the driveway it felt like no time had passed at all. Yang felt like a zombie as the day finally caught up to her. She trudged into the house, dropping her duffel bag unceremoniously in the foyer and shrugging out of her jacket as if on autopilot. That is until Pyrrha indicated for her to follow her into the living room and take a seat on the couch like she was the female version of Chris Hansen on an episode of ‘To Catch a Predator.’

“So the interrogation begins…” Yang couldn’t help but say sarcastically as she plopped down on one end of the couch, bouncing lightly on the cushions. Pyrrha shook her head as she slowly sat on the opposite side.

“That’s not what this is Yang. You don’t have to act all dramatic.”

That got Yang to scoff. “Okay then, the ‘ _intervention begins_ ’ or whatever. What is this about Pyrrha?”

She watched as Pyrrha pulled out her scroll and fiddled with it for a moment before answering. “I wouldn’t call it an intervention either. But _I am_ worried about you. _Especially_ after what Ruby had texted me a few days ago.”

Well that certainly got the fighters attention as she sat up just a bit straighter on the couch.

“Ruby texted you? What did she want?” Yang was confused. Why would her sister text Pyrrha? She hadn’t done that since they were in high school. And even then it was usually Ruby just texting the redhead to see where Yang was if she wasn’t answering her own scroll.

“She actually sent me a few pictures she took of you. Though when I asked her about it she just said that you were doing good. Ah, here we go…” Pyrrha made a final tap on her scroll before holding it out for Yang to see.

Yang had to squint in order to properly tell what it was showing on her friends scroll. When she did finally notice what she was staring at, she understood Pyrrha’s cause for worry. It was a picture of Yang’s prosthetic hand still attached to the refrigerator door handle with Ruby’s comment of _‘sis no arm wrastle no mor!’_ Seeing her hand detached like that again had Yang subconsciously rubbed at her artificial arm, reassuring herself that it was in one piece and still there. She couldn’t even bring herself to say anything in fear that her voice would crack, so she only offered her friend a stiff nod instead.

“I know you haven’t had an episode in over a year Yang. Which I’m glad because that means you are doing better, but this?” Pyrrha let her arm, scroll still in hand, drop into her lap as she shook her head. “I was worried that this had triggered one but Ruby only said that you were fine when I inquired about it. Knowing you though, I just wanted to double check.”

“Oh…” Was the only thing that Yang could say for a few minutes. She was relieved but at the same time she was nervous that this was what Pyrrha wanted to talk about. _‘F it… She deserves to know what had happened.’_ She sighed, running a hand through her hair. “I mean, yeah by the time Ruby got home I was fine. But when that happened… _Shit_ Pyrrha it was bad…”

“How bad?” Pyrrha’s brow was furrowed as she situated herself on the couch to face Yang.

She bit her lower lip as she thought of how much to tell her friend. All of it, being her ultimate answer. “Not nearly as bad as that time I tried to fight you but… Pretty damn close.” When Pyrrha gave her an expectant look Yang took a deep breath before continuing. “I called Blake coach.” She said with a long exhale.

“Oh…” Green eyes grew impossibly wide. “So Blake- Yang I’m so sorry…”

“No it’s okay.” She interrupted. “We talked about it after I snapped out of it.” Yang felt like she had swallowed a rock. Why she was suddenly nervous she wasn’t sure. Pyrrha already knew her story, hell, she was practically her caregiver for a long while. What was her problem?

“So Blake knows how you lost your arm then? How did she take it?” Pyrrha looked worried, causing Yang to give her a rueful smile.

“Good actually. She said that the only thing that really scared her was not knowing what to do in that type of situation but… Yeah.”

Pyrrha nodded thoughtfully. “I could tell her a few ways to snap you out of it, if it ever happens again. Do you remember just how Blake managed the situation?”

“Oh… Uuuh…” Yang hesitated as she began to fiddle with a stray thread on the armrest of the couch. “She hugged me. I know, it’s _weird_ cause when you tried that I ended up throwing a punch at you and stuff but… I don’t know. With Blake it just _worked_.”

Yang couldn’t quite meet her friends gaze as she spoke. Hazarding a glance at the redhead she saw her pursed her lips thoughtfully as she nodded, bringing up her scroll again and tapped on it’s screen a few more times. “Well then that brings me to my next question, though I can hazard a guess at this point…” It was Yang’s turn to look at her confusedly. Pyrrha’s only answer was to hand her scroll over to Yang, the blonde feeling her cheeks instantly grow hot with embarrassment.

“Ruby sent me quite a few pictures of the two of you.” She said as she watched Yang scroll through the dozens of pictures.

_‘A few? Yeah right. More like_ all _of them! Oum just_ how many _did she take of us?’_ Yang thought with growing embarrassment as she scrolled through the various pictures Ruby had sent Pyrrha. A few of them had additional comments made by Ruby stating things like ‘ _look@thes2dorks!_ ’ or, ‘ _OMG SO CUTE_ ’. Most were just accompanied by several emoji faces or hearts. Especially the one that she had snapped of Yang and Blake cuddled up on the couch together the day of her panic attack.

She remembers Blake calling it a hug but looking at the picture Yang had been right. They _were_ cuddling, very blatantly even. “Okay, yeah I know what this looks like, but I swear Blake was the one to suggest we sit like that while we talked about stuff.” Yang couldn’t help but sound defensive as she handed Pyrrha’s scroll back, too embarrassed to continue looking at the pictures.

The redhead pocketed her scroll with a hum. “And you happened to fall asleep on her?”

She knew it, this was totally another one of Pyrrha’s ‘ _talks_ ’ about Yang needing to control herself. “For the love of- Pyrrha, you _know_ how exhausted I get after an episode!” She felt frustrated now, she was tired of going through this song and dance over and over again with her friend. Honestly at this point she was tempted to just get up and stomp off to her room and call it a day. No she did not care how much that made her seem like a child!

What stopped her was Pyrrha’s sudden smile. “Oh I know, I’m just teasing you Yang. You look cute together actually.”

_‘Wait, what?’_ The light laugh that followed her friends words threw Yang for a loop as she stared at the redhead. “Wait, are you saying… What are you saying Pyrrha?”

“Well…” Her friend began, looking sheepish as she shrugged. “While you were gone, Jaune and I had gotten to talking about you and your feelings for Blake. Now, _I know_ that despite my _numerous_ attempts at trying to remind you to just be friends were ignored…”

“Hey! That’s not true…” Pyrrha’s disbelieving look was enough to make Yang bite her tongue. “Okay yeah fair enough…”

“As I was saying, despite my warnings being ignored, it would appear that we’ll try things Jaune’s way.” Pyrrha said cryptically, confusing Yang even further.

“Jaune’s way? What do you mean by that?”

Pyrrha hummed again, giving Yang a look that told her that her friend knew a secret that she didn’t. Yang hated that look, it made her want to strangle her friend. “What is your favorite thing about Blake?” Pyrrha asked causing Yang to give her an incredulous look, because _really_? What kind of question was that? “Just humor me Yang.” Pyrrha said after reading the blondes expression.

She let out an exhale, not quite a sigh. How was she supposed to answer that? Yang highly doubted that Pyrrha would expect ‘ _everything_ ’ as an answer... She tapped her knee with her index finger in thought before deciding to hell with it.

“Everything…” She started, before suddenly finding herself elaborating further without further assistance. “I mean, the way she makes these random expressions when she’s reading is adorable. And how she always adjusts her glasses when she’s working and trying to think of a word or a way to write a sentence that she’s stuck on. Even the _stupid amount_ of tea that she consumes! She drinks different flavors depending on her mood, but her go to is mint green tea. And her _ears_! Seriously Blake has like, the _perfect_ poker face but her ears _always_ give away her emotions if you pay attention and… And seriously Pyrrha, I could go on for days.” Yang realized that she was ranting about Blake, again. But that’s what Pyrrha wanted right?

Pyrrha laughed out loud. “Oh I’m sure you could. But I would rather save myself a repeat of when you first met her.” This time when Pyrrha laughed, Yang joined in. She did kinda talk her friends ear off about her that day. When both women sobered a little, Pyrrha offered Yang a single nod. “Okay then.”

“Okay then?” Yang repeated questioningly as she looked at the redhead with a confused expression. Were they agreeing on something? Better question, what where they agreeing _on_?

“Blake obviously means a lot to you Yang. Plus, ever since you two met you’ve been acting much more like the Yang I became friends with. You’re happier and it shows.” Pyrrha said matter of factly. Yang couldn’t disagree with the statement either as she nodded.

“I am… But what does Jaune have to do with any of this?”

Pyrrha shrugged delicately. “Oh you know. After the first few pictures Ruby sent he and I talked one night and he pointed out a few things to me. So I figured, ‘ _why fight this?_ ’ You know?” She added with another shrug. “Just promise me that if you are seriously interested in dating Blake… Just take it slow, that’s all I ask.”

Yang couldn’t help her unladylike snort. “Wow Pyrrha… I didn’t think I would ever need your approval to date someone.”

“Yang, that’s-” Yang interrupted her with a wave of her hand and a chuckle.

“I’m messing with you Pyrrha. I know you’re just looking out for me. Besides, the few relationships I’ve had where I completely ignored your advice did kinda all end in a glorious trash fire.” They both shared a laugh at that before falling silent once more.

Yang felt… Lighter somehow. The prospect of growing closer to Blake, with her friends cheering her on even, made her hopeful for what tomorrow would bring. A feeling she had long thought lost in her time spent full of self pity and bitterness.

“So…” She started to say as an idea came to mind. “If I text Blake regarding her favorite foods would you be down to go to the store so we can do some shopping?” Yang thought out loud, giving her friend a hopeful smile.

“Even if you don’t text Blake, shopping is definitely on my list of things to do today considering we don’t have much currently.” Pyrrha’s answering smile was like a green light as Yang made an excited noise to dig out her scroll.

To Hot Girl Blake 4:06 pm> Yo! Wut r ur fav foods?

_Hot Girl Blake 4:08 pm > Are we still not done with our game of 20 questions?_

To Hot Girl Blake 4:09 pm> Nope!  
To Hot Girl Blake 4:09 pm> but super ceral wut u lyk?

_Hot Girl Blake 4:12 pm > Seafood is my favorite. Tuna and salmon being my top favorite. Yours?_

To Hot Girl Blake 4:13 pm> Spicy food 4 sur.  
To Hot Girl Blake 4:13 pm> teh hoter the bter  
To Hot Girl Blake 4:14 pm> -_^  
To Hot Girl Blake 4:15 pm> want 2 comover 4 beakfeast 2mrrw b4 ur book thingy?

_Hot Girl Blake 4:17 pm > I swear you are trying to get me fat off of your cooking…_

To Hot Girl Blake 4:18 pm> Sooooo iz dat a yes?

_Hot Girl Blake 4:20 pm > Yes Yang. Breakfast sounds lovely. Mind if I swing by around 8:30-9 then?_

To Hot Girl Blake 4:21 pm> sounds purrfect!  
To Hot Girl Blake 4:21 pm> c u then blakey!!!  
To Hot Girl Blake 4:22 pm> :) :) :)

_Hot Girl Blake 4:23 pm > See you tomorrow Yang._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Yang still has Blake listed in her phone as ‘Hot Girl Blake’ from chapter 5… Because it amuses me that’s why. 
> 
> Thank you all who left a mini chapter suggestion! They will start popping up after the the next chapter! Speaking of the next chapter... Next one is currently my favorite chapter! Because I quite literally wrote it all in a single afternoon while giggling like an idiot the entire time because I think I’m witty. No that does not mean it will be posted sooner. You’ll have to wait until Monday. Cheers!!! >:3


	20. The Overactive Imagination

Being back home had an almost foreign feeling to it as Blake turned off her alarm before shuffling her way into her kitchen. Her morning routine, thus far, had started off normally. Up by six before making her way all bleary eyed into the kitchen to make herself her morning pot of tea... But today she was thrown slightly off course when Blake suddenly realized that she had spent an additional ten minutes trying to find coffee grounds before embarrassingly remembering that she didn’t have any. So as she waited for her water to boil, Blake chalked it up to the routine she had developed while staying with Yang’s family.

She had to admit, spending time with Yang and her family was nice. Even though it left Blake with a sense of longing to see her own parents. _‘I’ll have to see about visiting them during the winter months. I’m not sure how Yang would handle how hot Menagerie can get in the summertime…’_ She thought with a sigh before going rigid with her eyes undoubtedly growing wide.

With sudden clarity, Blake realized she had just thought about making plans for Yang to meet _her_ parents. First, she tries to make some morning coffee _for_ Yang, despite not even owning a coffee maker. _And now_ she’s making plans for Yang to meet her parents...

What is wrong with her?

The shrill sound of the kettle momentarily distracted Blake away from her inner thoughts. Surely she would have time to analyze them later. For now she could distract herself with drinking tea and maybe even spend an hour or two writing before she met up with Yang for breakfast. Annnd just like that Blake felt her cheeks grow warm at the prospect of spending even more time with the other woman.

Time they'll be spending _alone_ even.

“Get a grip Blake, you’re acting like a teenager.” She muttered harshly to herself with a quick slap to her cheeks. This was going to be a looong day if she couldn’t put a lid on her feelings. Preferably a tight one, followed by putting them in a vault located somewhere dark and hopefully forgotten.

Blake laughed at herself, the sound was mirthless and bitter sounding. “Yeah right Belladonna. Like that’s going to work…” She said with a sigh. Of all the things she should have seen coming was after spending a whole week acting like a couple with Yang, she _should have_ known her feelings would grow. Blake had admittedly grown accustomed to Yang’s flirtatious antics. Even learning how to fire back with her own witticism whenever Yang’s blatant innuendos became especially too much.

She had even grown use to having Yang close by on a near constant basis. Either sitting in the same room together reading or sitting close to enough to be in each others personal space while on the couch, it didn’t matter. Now that she was back home, Blake could already tell how her room seemed a little less bright without Yang’s presence filling it in some way. Including how cold Blake felt without the other woman's warmth.

With a heavy sigh, Blake unceremoniously plopped herself into her office chair. It seemed like just the other day when she thought that the prospect of her being attracted to Yang was an impossibility. Yet it would appear that Blake had forgotten about the cardinal rule of courtship. The rule being that opposites attract.

Yes, Yang was loud and abundantly extroverted. But she was also thoughtful, always taking other people's feelings into consideration and looking out for those she cared about. The more Blake learned about her friend, the more she found herself fighting with her growing attraction towards her. And she was slowly losing that battle each time Yang said or did something that caused her to smile.

Blake sighed again as she shook the thoughts away. It wouldn’t do her any good in this moment. Besides she wasn’t even sure if Yang felt the same way about her. So it was pointless for Blake to get her hopes up least she wind up disappointed in the end.

_‘Easier said than done.’_ She thought tiredly as she finally set herself to work.

\---

“Oh hey Blake! I wasn’t expecting you for another half hour or so. Come on in!” Yang greeted her cheerfully. She was already dressed for the day, clad in a pair of dark jeans and the same orange tank top with a burning heart symbol on it. Blake only remembered it because it was the same one she wore when she introduced the writer to Jaune and Pyrrha.

_‘Not to mention the same day Yang teased me about looking at her breasts…’_ Blake's brain none too thankfully reminded her. She tried not to blush as she offered the former fighter a shy smile as she stepped into the foyer.

“Sorry I guess you can say I’m still a bit nervous about today.” It wasn’t a _complete_ lie, but Blake could hardly bring herself to admit that she was just excited to spend time with Yang again. And eat her cooking…

Really, before meeting Yang her morning meal was literally just a cup of tea. Lunch and dinner usually just consisted of whatever she had available in her fridge. Or she would just order take out. Her mother would be seriously disappointed in her if she ever found out. Thinking of food…

“So, your text yesterday mentioned something about breakfast?” Blake tried to keep her tone casual as she took off her dark purple cardigan and hung it on the coat rack.

Yang let out a short laugh, already walking backwards towards the kitchen. “Ah- _ha_! The true reason why you came over early! Miss my cooking already Belladonna?”

Blake couldn’t help but roll her eyes as she walked further into the house. “You feed me home cooked meals for a whole week and suddenly you expect me to fend for myself?” This at least Blake had no trouble admitting out loud. If only because it caused Yang’s smile to widen at her.

“Well I guess I’m given no other choice but to spoil you some more then! Make yourself at home Blakey while I cook up a surprise for you!” Shooting Blake one of her flirtatious winks, Yang then turned fully towards the kitchen while humming a joyful tune.

Now, Blake admittedly didn’t know what Yang had meant by cooking up a ‘ _surprise_ ’. While she patiently waited for Yang to finish cooking, all of her attempts at inquiry were met with vague answers of “you’ll see.” And her one attempt at offering to help was met with a definitive “no.” Thus she was forced to wait in the living room until Yang was finished cooking. It certainly smelled good, and she knew it involved eggs but that was all Blake could tell from her spot in the living room.

When Yang finally finished cooking and set a plate down in front of Blake, she really was surprised. At first, it looked like it was just a toasted bagel with cream cheese and topped with scrambled eggs. That is until she bit into it and discovered the thin slices of salmon hiding underneath the eggs.

Later, Blake might have found herself embarrassed by the noise she made upon the delicious discovery. But at that moment all she could think of was how much she liked salmon. The last time she had it was when Weiss had brought over some catered sushi in celebration of the release of her book ‘The Sea God’s Plight.’ But this… This was _much_ tastier than sushi.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume that you liked breakfast.” Yang’s voice sounded amused as Blake finished off the last of her food.

Still chewing her last bite, Blake nodded furiously as she placed her empty plate on the coffee table before leaning back against the couch with a satisfied sigh. “Your assumption would be correct.” She said after swallowing her mouthful before continuing. “Where did you learn to cook like that?”

“The internet.” The statement was said so matter-of-factually that Blake shot Yang a disbelieving look. Yang just chuckled at her expression as she shrugged. “Hey, after I asked you about what foods you liked yesterday, it wasn’t hard to find several recipes. And then you said you were still nervous so I thought this would cheer you up.”

Blake couldn’t help her smile then. “Thank you Yang...” She wanted to say more but Blake feared her feelings would become transparent then. Either way, Yang’s answering smile was bright and full of warmth.

“Feeling better?”

“Yes.”

“Good!” Yang stood, grabbing the plates and walking back towards the kitchen. This time when Blake stood to offer her assistance with clean up, Yang didn’t stop her.

By the time the dishes were cleaned, Yang and Blake were able to enjoy some idle conversation before heading out. Well, more accurately the two of them continued with their still unfinished game of twenty questions before Yang had to finish getting ready to leave. Blake shook her head knowingly at the blonde when she re-emerged wearing that silly leather jacket with her hair pulled back in a messy ponytail.

Blake did her best to appear annoyed at Yang’s continued persistence at looking like one of her characters. Secretly however, Blake admitted it was a good look on the blonde. And no, Blake was never going to tell her that either.

The location of Dust Till Dawn Bookshop was perhaps a bit too close to the main hustle and bustle of Vales business district in Blake’s opinion. As they pulled into the parking lot near the bookstore, Blake regretfully took note of how the sidewalk was teeming with people going about their business. After parking in the closet space she could find to the bookstore, she took a moment to just breathe as she held onto her steering wheel with a white knuckle grip.

Yang, of course noticed her distress and turned in her seat to completely face Blake. “Hey…” When gold met lilac, Yang reached over the center console to rest a reassuring hand the novelist shoulder. “Do you remember what I told you right before we left for Patch?” Blake gave a small nod of her head, her concentration largely on just taking air in through her nose before slowly exhaling it.

“What did I tell you Blake?” Yang’s tone wasn’t demanding, it was soft and gentle. Combined with the soft circles she was drawing into Blake's shoulder, it was also comforting.

“You said, that they’ll have to go through you before they can get to me.” She quoted the words, distantly remembering the absolute seriousness in which Yang had spoken them.

Yang leaned forward then, invading Blake's personal space just a bit. “That’s right, and don’t you forget it kitten.” Yang punctuated her statement by poking Blake in the forehead suddenly, causing her to momentarily become cross eyed. Her ears instantly flattened, either from being poked or because she hated how whenever Yang used the pet name it always caused her to blush or both, she wasn’t sure. She was sure that she as going to reprimand Yang, again, for calling her kitten.

She shot a half-hearted scowl at Yang that was promptly ignored as she was busy unbuckling herself and getting out of the car. So Blake had to settle for glaring at the blonde the entire time it took for her to walk around the front of the vehicle to open Blake's door with a flirtatious wink and a smile to match. “Ready to knock ‘em dead?”

As Yang extended a hand out to Blake, the faunus let out a long sigh. “You are insufferable…” She muttered as she finally undid her own seat belt, accepting Yang's outstretched hand.

“So you keep saying. Admit it though Blakey, you love it.” Blake only dignified her with an exaggerated eye roll as they began to walk towards the bookshop.

Once inside the two women were quickly intercepted by Weiss. Her promptness gave Blake the impression that the publisher had been constantly looking out the front window of the store awaiting for their approach, all the while checking her wrist watch every five seconds. Yeah no, knowing Weiss, that’s _exactly_ what she had been doing prior to her and Yang entering the store.

“You’re late…” Weiss’s tone was as professional as her pristine white blouse and matching skirt. Blake herself was still rattled by her walk outside, so she was thankful when Yang spoke for the both of them.

“Oh for the love of- By like _ten minutes_! Take a chill pill _Ice Queen_ …”

_‘Nevermind, I take that back!’_ Blake felt her ears instantly plaster themselves against her scalp. “Yang!” She hissed before Weiss could say anything. And judging by how her blue eyes hardened, Blake had to do some preemptive damage control. Like right now.

Putting herself slightly in between the former fighter and her publisher, Blake barely managed to speak in a tone that wouldn’t draw unwanted attention from the shops employees. “Weiss, I’m sorry. I was nervous about today so Yang had went out of her way to make me breakfast before we came over. And-” She was interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around her shoulders and pulling her back slightly into a solid female frame.

“-And I’m sorry Weiss. There was a lot of people outside and when Blake gets nervous I get defensive.” Yang’s voice sounded genuinely apologetic as she held Blake against her. If she wasn’t still recovering from her heightened anxiety levels, including placating Weiss, she would be blushing at the contact.

Regardless their apologies worked as Weiss’s shoulders lost some of there tension. “Apology accepted. Now, if you both could follow me then.” And just like that, Weiss acted like nothing happened, turning on her heel and started walking towards the back of the store. Okay, it was more like marching. Blake silently wondered if Weiss was a part of the military in a past life as she followed after her with Yang in tow.

Weiss led them towards the back of the store and through a door labeled with an employees only sign, in which they passed an elderly gentleman wearing a red apron. He gave both Blake and Yang a friendly smile and a nod before continuing on his way out towards the venue floor.

Beyond the door was a short hallway where they passed by several racks of books waiting to be put out for sale before it opened up into a spacious area unlike any employee lounge Blake had ever seen. It almost looked like someone's living room with a large corner sofa and coffee table facing a large holoscreen TV mounted on the wall. Adjacent to it was a modest sized kitchenette with an included stovetop and oven next to a large two door reach-in refrigerator. There was even a kitchen table that was currently overburdened by several sandwich platters, pizza boxes and various bottles of beverages.

Blake heard Yang give a low whistle at the sight of the bounty of food. “Dang Weiss, if I had known you had arranged a feast for us I wouldn’t have eaten breakfast!”

Curiously Weiss looked almost embarrassed by the compliment as she indicated for them to sit on the couch. “As much as I would like to take credit, I am unfortunately not the one to be thanking. The owner, whom we passed just a moment ago, had arranged all of this himself. He had informed me that it was a ‘Thank you.’ Not just to the both of you but also for his employees, some of whom are working overtime to assist with today's event.”

“That is very kind of him.” Blake thought out loud as she sat on the couch, caught slightly off guard by how soft it was. That is until Yang virtually plopped down next to her causing her to bounce lightly.

“We’ll have to thank him later for sure.” Yang agreed as she laid her left arm along the back of the couch behind Blake. “So Weiss, what does your all knowing itinerary have in store for us today?” The teasing note in her tone had Blake automatically reaching over to pinch the blondes thigh. Just for good measure she also leveled Yang with a threatening look, silently conveying that she needed to behave. Yang at least had the decency to look cowed about it. If only slightly.

Weiss, who had witnessed the exchange with a silent look of curiosity accompanied by a raised brow, had cleared her throat as they finally began to talk business. “First of all, I wanted to prepare you Blake for the amount of people that are expected to be attending today’s event. Given the limited spacing we have available, there’s no feasible way to minimize the number of people within the building itself. That is unless we have the line start outside, but considering the owner has been advertising today’s event since the day we discussed the _possibility_ of hosting a book signing... Well, needless to say the turn out might be larger than the last one.” She finished with a sigh before bringing out her tablet.

On her tablet, Weiss brought up a picture of the layout of the bookstore and held it for Blake to see. “So in an attempt to avoid overcrowding the sidewalk outside, we are going to be setting up a gauntlet inside that will be set up here.” Weiss continued as she pointed with a well manicured finger to a section of the layout that had little lines spaced evenly from one another that formed a repetitive s shape all the way to the entrance. On the tablet, everything looked neat and orderly, not to mention deceptively small. Blake of course knew better.

She tried her best to focus on what Weiss was saying as she continued to point out certain areas with an increasing amount of difficulty. That is until she felt a hand maneuver to take hold of her own. Blake automatically threaded her fingers with the glove covered digits made of metal and carbon fiber, taking comfort in the contact as she gave Yang’s hand a squeeze.

Yang would keep her safe.

\---

When the inevitable time came for Blake to interact with an untold number of people with only a single table to act as a barrier, Blake was glad for two things. First and foremost she was glad that Weiss had warned her ahead of time about the increase number of people. Walking out to the floor she could see that the gauntlet line was not only packed but the line had continued out the front door and possibly stretched further outside. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, she was glad for Yang’s presence next to her.

During her previous book signing, Yang had proved instrumental in keeping people's attention focused on her rather than on Blake, which helped her anxiety more than she thought it would. Yang’s natural charm while talking with each person who approached had allowed the novelist to focus on signing books with her only worry being if she had spelt the intended recipients name right. So when Yang sat next to her armed with a pad of paper and pen, Blake was grateful for her continued assistance.

No sooner had they sat down though, she gave Yang a questioning look as the blonde tore a page off her notepad and scribbled the titles of Blake’s books on it. “What are you doing?”

Yang just shot her a bright toothy smile. “You’ll see.” Before any further attempts at gaining an explanation could be made, they were cut off by the first persons approach whom Yang greeted with a cheerful “Hi there! What’s your name Boss Man?”

The young man looked bashful at the way Yang had addressed him and returned the smile with a certain amount of shyness. “Uh, Matthew. _B-but_ it’s for my girlfriend Kayla if that’s okay.”

“Aw look at you being an awesome boyfriend!” Yang beamed causing the young man to further blush. “Hey quick question for ‘ya, which one of Blake’s books is her favorite?”

That seemed to perk up Matthew as he smiled widely. “Oh, this one actually.” At that he handed Blake a well read copy of Iceflower. “Yeah she’s really into supernatural crime stories and stuff.”

Blake quickly signed her name on the inside page before adding, _‘To Kayla- Matthew told me that this was your favorite book. Glad you liked it.’_ She finalized it with a small smiley face before handing it back to Matthew with a smile.

As he walked away with words of thanks, Blake noticed that Yang had put a tally mark next to the title of Iceflower. “Why are you taking a poll?”

Yang just laughed. “Because for science babe! Also because I thought it would be fun.” She shot Blake a wink just as the next person approached, and so the cycle repeated itself. With each new person, Yang would make light conversation and ask them about which book was their favorite while Blake would sign their books before moving onto the next person.

By the end of the event the faces and names of everyone she greeted had blurred together. It was a bit overwhelming but by far it wasn’t as bad as Blake thought it would be. Of course there were few memorable people today that made her smile as she thought of them.

One woman, a wolf faunus, had gifted Blake a piece of fan art that she drew depicting a scene from Ivory Fang. It featured Barbara protecting Arryn from the rival Wolf Gang and it was very detailed in how it was drawn. Blake remembered Yang’s excitement over how much Barbara was drawn in her likeness and nerded out about how awesome it was. What made it more memorable however was how nervous the woman was about meeting Blake that it took her several tries to spell her _own name_ before she just fished out her identification card for Blake to use instead.

Another pleasant encounter was with a short redheaded girl that greeted them with a perky exclamation of “Salutations!” while wearing one of those fake glasses with an attached mustache. Yang had instantly recognized her as one of Ruby’s college friends and got up to give the girl a big bear hug while Blake signed the two books she brought with her. One was for Ruby, who was still in Patch while the other one was for herself. Both Blake and Yang were unsure as to why she had tried to hide her identity though.

The last one Blake didn’t know how she felt about personally. Yes it was a memorable encounter, though not one she would classify as enjoyable. First of all, the woman was dressed like she was ready for a night out on the town. Nevermind that it was only roughly two in the afternoon by that point. To Blake, it appeared that she could have cared less about her book being signed as her honey brown eyes seemingly never left Yang’s figure from the moment she sauntered up to the table. What irked Blake further was how the woman had sat on the edge of the table after she approached. With her back slightly facing Blake, the writer received an undesired eye full of how _low_ her jeans hung on her hips, revealing evidence of a brightly colored thong being worn underneath.

To make matters worse was how Yang hadn’t seem bothered by the woman's behavior. And truthfully, Blake didn’t know why it had bothered her as much as it did. It’s not like Yang was _actually_ her girlfriend. But when the woman, who’s name Blake hadn’t bothered learning, had tried to reach out and touch Yang’s arm it was like she saw red. Blake ended up blocking her approaching hand with the book she just finished signing, thanked her for her patronage and told her to have a nice day with barely concealed disdain. It took a tremendous amount of effort for Blake to not to openly glare holes into the woman's backside as she gave Yang one last suggestive smile and proceeded to walk away with an obvious sway to her hips.

Needless to say, Blake was put into something of a sour mood after that, but thankfully Blake was adept at putting up a positive front. After a few more people had come and gone, the encounter was _mostly_ forgotten.

Finally, with the last book signed just before the clock struck four, Blake let out a long sigh of relief. From the corner of her eye she saw Yang stretch her arms out before raising them high above her head. “Oh man, that felt like more people then last time Blakey. How you doing by the way?”

_‘Tired, perhaps even frustrated at myself and I don’t want to be here anymore.’_ Blake thought silently as she slumped in her chair slightly. “Tired...” She said instead with her ears drooping at the admittance.

“Yeah I feel ya.” Yang reached over and rubbed at Blake's upper back. She felt like closing her eyes at the contact as she found it soothing, but Yang had removed her hand just as quickly. Blake couldn’t stop herself from feeling disappointed at the loss of contact though the warm smile Yang shot her distracted her.

“Hey, why don’t we go raid what’s left of the food in the employee area? You know, enjoy some free food before Weiss finds us and bores us to death?” Blake could hear her eagerness in the suggestion that tugged a smile at the corners of the writers lips.

“Sure.” Food sounded nice at that moment anyway. Yang’s smile brightened further then, resembling the sun as she stood up from the table. She extended a hand out for Blake who gladly took it as the blonde began to lead them both towards the employee lounge.

Upon reaching the back, Yang wasted no time picking up a few paper plates, handing one off to Blake, before piling food onto her own. There admittedly wasn’t much left, unlike Yang and Blake who had been confined to a table for the last four hours, the rest of the staff were not so restricted. And judging by what was left they too had taken it upon themselves to enjoy some free food.

Not like Blake was complaining, it was for everyone after all. Besides, she was able to lay claim to the last of the pasta salad and the two remaining tuna sandwiches from the sandwich platter. So she was content.

She took her bounty to go sit down at the couch just as Yang set her own plate down, piled high with pizza, before returning to the table for drinks. “Want anything to drink? There’s no tea, but there’s some soda and some bottled water left.” Yang asked as she poured soda into a red solo cup.

Blake couldn’t help but sigh. Perhaps her weird mood was from her lack of tea. No… Now that she thought about it, it probably _was_ because she only had the one cup this morning. Maybe she could convince Yang to stop by a cafe with her before they head home and pick some up. Knowing Yang, she probably wouldn't need much convincing.

“Water please, thank you.” He answered before she could wistfully get lost in the thought of her preferred drink.

Yang plucked a water bottle from the cooler sitting on one of the chairs and headed back over to the couch, idly humming to herself. “So…” She started after sitting down and handing Blake her water bottle. “Wanna know the tally results?”

Her sudden excitement was slightly contagious as Blake observed Yang practically wiggling in her seat with the information. So Blake saw it fit to humor her with a nod. Besides, where was the harm in knowing the results? Also if there was a particular genre that was liked more than the others then she could take it as an excuse to write more of it.

“Sweet! Hang on a sec, I just have to add all these up…” Yang sat her drink down and pulled out her scroll along with the folded piece of paper with all the tally marks on it. Blake nibbled on her sandwiches while she watched Yang with barely concealed amusement as the blonde proceeded to mutter to herself as she used the calculator on her scroll to count everything.

Blake couldn’t help herself from finding it cute whenever Yang would poke her tongue out as she continued with her appointed task.

After several minutes, which was enough time for Blake to finish both of her sandwiches, Yang finally let out a noise of triumph. “Okay, here we go! You ready?” Yang turned slightly on the couch, the paper containing the final numbers held close to her chest as their knees brushed against one another.

“I am wrought with suspense.” Blake was proud that she was able to sound sarcastic as she took a bite of her pasta salad.

Unfortunately it was lost on Yang as she just gave Blake a wink. “I bet you are!” She cleared her throat dramatically as she held out the paper. “So out of three hundred and forty-seven people, it’s no surprise that Ivory Fang took first place with ninety-four votes! Second, was taken up by Iceflower at eighty-eighty. Then One Coffee of The Day took third with eighty-three, quickly followed by The Sea Gods Plight with eighty-two!” Yang folded the paper then, smiling while giving Blake an expectant look.

“That… Wow okay.” Blake was at a loss for words. The numbers were pretty close together to be considered consistent. “I think more information is needed. For accuracy reasons.”

“Oh yeah, definitely.” Yang barely managed to say around a mouthful of pizza before swallowing it. “I’m definitely gonna do this again at your next book signing. When is that by the way?”

“Technically her next event is in July while the two of you are in Haven.” The unexpected sound of Weiss’s voice had spooked Blake as she hadn’t heard the publishers approach. At least she wasn’t as caught off guard as Yang who was sent into a coughing fit at the publishers sudden and unexpected appearance. Blake offered a few awkward pats on her back until she composed herself.

“ _Holy crap_ Weiss, way to give a girl a heart attack!”

Weiss merely crossed her arms with a huff. “Well consider it payback for nearly giving _me_ a heart attack the _last time_ I walked into a room you two occupied.”

It admittedly took Blake longer to realize that Weiss had meant that time she _thought_ she walked in on Yang and Blake kissing during her first book signing. Which they weren't! That knowledge however still didn’t stop the writers cheeks from darkening with a blush while Yang pointed a finger at the shorter woman.

“Okay, first of all, that was your own fault. Second of all, if you were expecting to walk in on us kissing again, well you are out of luck.” At this she then pointed at Blake who felt as if her cheeks were on fire. “Sorry babe, love you lots. But you just ate tuna and I am _so not_ kissing you until we get home and you brush your teeth.”

Blake heard Weiss let out an exasperated sound while she herself buried her face in her hands. Well if she wasn’t a bright red tomato _before_ , she certainly was _now_. Blake couldn’t tell if her current state was because Yang had said the word ‘love’ or because her brain decided to take that precise moment to supply her with the mental imagery of kissing Yang. The two of them already dressed for bed while the blonde had her pressed up against the bathroom sink, their toothbrushes lay off to one side forgotten while they share a passionate kis- _NO_! Stop that brain! Your overactive imagination is _not_ needed at this precise moment thank you very little!!

It was Blake's turn to groan out something intangible. Forget being a bright red tomato, even her cat ears felt like they were on fire. _‘Yang really_ is _trying to kill me…’_ She thought not for the first time that day as she was only vaguely aware of Weiss trying to lecture Yang on the ethics of being a professional.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry Blake. It’s your turn to be a useless gay mess! And perhaps a bit jealous. Okay maybe even a bit possessive… _Whatever!_ I really enjoyed writing this chapter! Slowly watching Blake come to realize her own feelings for Yang is like watching a glorious train wreck. Don’t you agree? 
> 
> Anyway remember those ideas I had you all throw at me a few chapters ago? Well it’s time to see those suckers in action because the MINI CHAPTERS ARE UPON US!!! ( _Oh noes_ ) Even though I say _‘mini’_ watch as I STILL write a chapter that’s anywhere between 1,500-3,000 words lol.
> 
> See you all next week. <3


	21. The Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Blakes book signings currently over and done with, it's time for her and Yang to prepare for their trip to Haven for what is undoubtedly their biggest challenge. But first, Pyrrha invites everyone over for a movie night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the 'mini' chapters you guys! So have fun with this short 2,020 words of silliness. <3

**Tuesday, May 28th- 5 ½ weeks until Haven.**

Ever since Pyrrha had learned about Yang and Blake having some downtime until they left for Haven, she had been formulating a plan. Well, more accurately she’d been _plotting_ ever since her and Jaune talked about it while their friends were away in Patch. But they didn’t need to know that.

Regardless her chance to put her plan into action came when Jaune cheerfully informed her that he had a few days off from both work and his internship, and wanted to know if any of them coincide with her days off.

Thankfully, one of them did.

They haven’t had a proper movie night in sometime. So when Pyrrha made the suggestion to both Yang and Jaune, it was well received. Her suggestion to also include Blake was equally met with enthusiasm, especially by Yang who didn’t hesitate taking it upon herself to extend the offer via text to the faunus. When she received a simple _‘Sure’_ , Pyrrha was hard pressed to contain herself.

It was all going according to plan.

Now Pyrrha found herself in the kitchen, waiting for the popcorn machine to start spewing forth it’s bounty of delicious white puffs while Jaune and Yang tidied up the living room in preparation for movie night. They were nearly complete in their task while Pyrrha waited to fill yet another bowl full of the chosen snack. She had already filled one bowl full of popcorn, but knowing both Yang and Jaune it would hardly be enough to get them through the opening credits. Plus, she didn’t know if Blake would like any so she decided to make several bowls of popcorn. Just to be safe.

“I’ll get it!” Yang’s loud declaration made Pyrrha aware that the noise of the popcorn machine had drowned out the sound of Blake’s arrival. From her post in the kitchen she watched as Yang eagerly flung open the door to greet the woman and usher her into the house.

Trying to appear busy with the popcorn machine, which wasn’t difficult once the kernels started popping, Pyrrha waited. Her patience was rewarded not a moment later as Blake strolled into the kitchen, carrying a plastic bag filled with what looked like various drinks and setting it on the counter as she offered the redhead a shy smile. “Hello Pyrrha.”

“Hello Blake! Thanks for joining us. By the way you didn’t have to bring anything…” Pyrrha put on her best friendly smile while trying her best to pay attention to Blake's faunus ears.

Just as Yang had mentioned several days ago, they were indeed very expressive as she caught sight of them flicker before Blake tucked a loose strand of hair behind a human ear that escaped her ponytail.

“I know, but I felt strange not bringing anything.” She shifted from foot to foot for a moment before stepping closer to Pyrrha. “Anything I can help with?”

Wordlessly Pyrrha handed her the two filled bowls of popcorn with a smile. “Don’t let them eat any until I finish filling this last bowl.” She watched as Blake gingerly took hold of the bowls, one in each hand, and carry them out towards the living room were the poor woman was instantly set upon by Yang making a grab for them. She admittedly found it impressive as she watched the faunus effortlessly maneuver around her friend without dropping a single kernel.

Once all of the popcorn was finally made and Jaune was just about done setting up the movie, Pyrrha took note of how close Yang and Blake were sitting next to each other. Yang had chosen to sit next to the armrest with one arm resting on the back of the couch behind Blake who sat practically hip to hip with her, legs curled up with her feet tucked beneath her as the two quietly chatted. It was very curious considering just how much space their couch still had to offer. It’s not like it was a tight fit after all, Pyrrha knew from experience that they could fit up to six people on the couch. Though the redhead’s attention was soon pulled away by the chipper voice of her boyfriend.

“So Blake, have you ever watched Time Bandits before?” Jaune said eagerly as he got up to dim the lights before taking his seat next to Pyrrha on the couch.

When the faunus shook her head, Yang clapped her hands together once with an excited noise. “Oh you’re gonna _love_ this… Different fables all wrapped into one movie while our heroes are on the hunt for treasure!”

“Hey, the story has more meaning than that Yang…” Jaune defended. Before the two blondes could begin to bicker back and forth, Pyrrha shushed them just as the movie began. The group of friends then collectively fell into silence, the only sounds made were the soft noise of popcorn munching and soda consumption. Occasionally, as the movie progressed, Jaune or Yang would offer insight or comment on a particular scene to Blake before being shushed by Pyrrha once again.

Truthfully she only did it to keep in character. Her main goal tonight wasn’t watching the movie after all, as she has seen it before considering it is one of Jaune’s favorites. No, her main goal tonight was to watch the interactions between her two friends.

She knew from her talk with Yang the day she got back from Patch that she at least was interested in Blake, but that didn’t mean that the other woman harbored the same feelings. Though according to Jaune, and what she was seeing so far, maybe she did?

The topic originally came up when Pyrrha received the first few pictures from Ruby while both Yang and Blake were in Patch. Unbeknownst to them however, it was Pyrrha who asked Ruby to send her updates regarding Yang. It was easily done once she offered the younger sibling a few coupons to a bakery that she liked with an added excuse of wanting something to embarrass Yang with later. And just like that, Ruby was all for it.

So when the first few pictures started to come in, Pyrrha had started to see what Jaune had meant. Of course, Pyrrha wanted- no, _needed_ more evidence on the matter. And in order to obtain that she wanted to observe the two in a setting where they didn’t have to pretend about being in a relationship.

Needless to say, what Pyrrha observed was quite interesting. Throughout the movie she would notice that both women would occasionally steal glances at the other. Blake’s ears would always tilt in some way, either back or to the sides whenever she would glance at Yang. Once or twice Pyrrha swore that she saw the faunus blush as well during one of these stolen glances, though that could have been just a trick of the light. Another thing she noticed was that whenever Blake had a question, she would _always_ lean towards Yang to ask, even though Jaune probably would’ve been more adept at answering given the amount of times he's seen the movie.

By the time the movie came to an end, it was of no surprise that Jaune had passed out some time after the dwarves entered King Agamemnon’s timeline. A shame really, she knew that that was Jaune's favorite part.

What was surprising was seeing that Yang had also passed out sometime during Evil’s plot of luring Kevin and the dwarves into his realm. “Well will you look at that, it would seem we have found the kryptonite for our dear blonde companions.” Pyrrha sighed wistfully as she stood up, careful not to disturb her slumbering boyfriend.

“Do they normally pass out during movies?” Blake asked quietly as she looked over at Yang, curled up against the armrest with her head in her palm and snoring softly.

Pyrrha gave a quiet chuckle as she started to pick up the now empty bowls of popcorn, Blake silently followed suit as she grabbed the empty cups and cans off the coffee table. “Jaune does as his schedule is normally pretty hectic. Yang though… Honestly I have to say this is a first.”

She heard Blake hum thoughtfully as they made their way to the kitchen, doing their best to keep the clean up as quiet as possible. “So, did you like the movie?” Pyrrha asked quietly as they worked.

Again, Pyrrha observed the tilt of Blake’s cat ears though she couldn’t gather the meaning of the angle as her golden eyes looked at her. “I did. I found the ending a bit strange, though I assume there is some additional meaning behind it.” She paused before her ears went flat. “Or at least I hope so…”

Pyrrha nodded knowingly. “Well if either Yang or Jaune were awake and you had several hours to spare, I’m sure they would be happy to supply you with their endless theories on the matter.” She paused, taking a moment to shake her head at the thought before asking the real question she had been waiting for.

“Speaking of Yang…” She paused again as she witnessed Blake's ears perk at the name. “You two certainly seem to have gotten closer.” Almost instantly there was a dusting of pink on the writers cheeks before she averted her gaze, her ears tilting slightly backwards. Like a shark Pyrrha smelt blood. “Oh? Perhaps more than just a bit closer?”

The vicious shaking of Blake’s head accompanied by the further darkening of her cheeks were like a sign of victory to the redhead. “N-no nothing like that. She’s… Yang and I are just friends. _Purely_ professional…”

Pyrrha couldn’t resist her slow nod as she went in for the kill. “Right. _Professional_. Of course. Is that why she has you listed in her scroll as _‘Hot Girl Blake?’_ ” She cocked her hip against the kitchen sink and proceeded to take the ultimate enjoyment in watching Blake become flustered as she opened and closed her mouth several times before finding her words.

“ _Sh_ \- Wha- I-That's-It’s to upkeep appearances…” If the lighting wasn’t still dimmed from the ambiance of the movie, Pyrrha would bet that Blake was about as red as her hair.

It was a good lie, certainly a believable one if anyone else knew of their current predicament. To bad Pyrrha _knew_ that Yang had more than likely programmed the faunus’s information into her scroll as such since the moment she handed over her number to the blonde.

Alas, she now had the answer she was looking for and had her fun. Now it was time to take pity on the poor floundering woman. “Relax Blake, I know. I’m just teasing you.” She patted Blake on the shoulder with a gentle smile. “I should tell you though, as I’m sure you’ve heard her mention that her last relationship had left her with a lot of self doubt about her own worth.”

“But w-we’re not… She’s not…”

“I know Blake, I’m just letting you know that in case you ever are. Interested in her, I mean.” As Pyrrha offered one last smile, Blake buried her face in both palms before making a low sound of embarrassment.

A few minutes later, Blake made the appropriate excuses of having an early meeting with her publisher and left shortly thereafter. But not before Pyrrha took the opportunity to wake both Yang and Jaune so that they could make their own goodbyes. As Blake and Yang shared a hug at the door Pyrrha leaned into Jaune's chest.

“You remember that bet you wanted to make while they were in Patch?” She said quietly as to hopefully not be overheard by either woman still awkwardly saying their goodbyes in the doorway.

Jaune wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her closer to him. “The one where I said that they’d be dating by the end of the year?”

Pyrrha hummed in agreement. “I bet they’ll be dating by the end of the summer. Loser wears a dress to work.”

“Deal.” He chuckled as he kissed her on the cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks YagaYuu for suggesting more Pyrrha and Blake interactions! Including a smidgen of protective Pyrrha. -_^ It was fun to write up!


	22. The Matchmaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Blake's book signings currently over and done with, it's time for her and Yang to prepare for their trip to Haven for what is undoubtedly their biggest challenge. Meanwhile, Yang finds herself reading another one of Blake's books before sudden inspiration for mischief strikes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Managed to keep this one to 1,551 words! Enjoy! <3 ((And I apologize in advanced for any eye bleeding caused by Yang's and/or Ruby's texting skills.))

**Sunday, June 2nd- 5 weeks until Blake and Yang leave for Haven.**

Beep. Beep. Beep.  
_The sound of the heart monitor was the only thing breaking the silence within the tiny hospital room. The only physical reminder that the girl lying within the hospital bed was even remotely alive._

_“How long has she been like this?” Detective Snow asked the white cloaked doctor that shared the room with her, already knowing the answer. Of course she would know, it was purely out of some sense of professionalism that she asked the question to begin with._

_The sound of some pages on a clipboard being flipped broke the rhythm of the heart monitor, then nothing for one beep. “Four months. Roughly.” The doctor who’s name the detective didn’t care to remember replied._

Roughly.

_Snow’s blue eyes hardened as she continued to stare at the girl in the bed. She hated that word._ Roughly _. By definition that word spoke of irregularities and inconsistencies. The detective preferred order. Granted, it was her job to align all the pieces together to reveal the greater picture of the puzzle. But this girl..._

_Jane Doe, estimated to be in her early twenties, was found in the woods four months ago by some hikers. Fully clothed except for no shoes, barely breathing, no sign of a struggle. Given that the girl had no dirt on her save for what clung to her back from being laid down, no one knew_ how _long she was exposed to the elements before she was found let alone how she got out there to begin with_.

Four months.

_The girl was in a coma, yet with no sign of any brain trauma she still remained unresponsive to any means of waking her. She was a glorified medical mystery. Her case file back at the precinct was even labeled_ Sleeping Beauty _, no doubt dubbed such by some half wit who thought themselves clever, Snow thought._

“Or you could grow a _sense of humor_ and find it funny like they did…” Yang grumbled out loud as she tapped the side of the books hardcover. She found herself lounging in the living room again. She had finished reading Ivory Fang some time ago and decided it was high time to start on Blake’s second book, Iceflower. This one was proving a bit harder to get into though, solely because crime serials weren’t precisely Yang’s preferred genre.

She guessed it was okay so far, but she still hasn’t figured out why Ruby liked Detective Kara Snow so much. So far the character struck Yang as your average _holier-than-thou_ grade A bitch.

Well, to be fair, if that’s what her baby sis was into it’s not like Yang could fault her _too much_ for it. She herself regretfully had dated a few women who fell into that category after all.

As she continued to read though, Yang couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that she knew the Detective. Not like she understood the character in some way, but more like a sense of dejavu that she's met someone with this same personality. The more she read the more the feeling became a gut wrenching instinct telling her that this was indeed the case...

_Kara sternly glared at the two boastful youngbloods from across the bullpen. With the way Detectives Sunny and Blue were celebrating, one would think that the two had solved the greatest mystery known to man._

_A low whistle of false impression brought Kara's attention from the two juveniles and towards her own partner who stood beside her desk with two cups of coffee in hand. “What case did they crack this time?” Flynn asked, looking over the rims of his dark shades with a barely imperceptible nod towards the individuals in question._

_Kara took the offered drink, sipping at it gingerly to make sure it was to her taste before committing a full mouthful. At least her partner knew how she liked her coffee. Iced macchiato made with two shots of espresso with half almond soy and fat free milk, just how she liked it._

_“_ They _,” Kara began to answer, turning her attention towards her laptop while making a bored gesture over her shoulder in the direction of the two rowdy detectives now high-fiving another work associate, “caught that reported Main Street Racer.”_

_Flynn chuckled over the rim of his own coffee cup, a smooth sound that matched his handsome appearance. Taking a seat at his own desk, he flashed one of his charming smiles at her, leaning back in his chair almost casually._

_“Lemme guess,” he winked at her though the gesture went completely ignored, “a rich kid with a hot rod and a lead foot?” Kara nodded, her eyes never leaving her computer screen. Flynn chuckled again, shaking his head at the sight of Sunny and Blue as the two disappeared from the bullpen. “They'll be disappointed when Daddy 'money bags’ comes to bail their kid out.”_

_Kara simply nodded again, silently glad that her partner wasn't all looks and actually_ had _a brain._

Yang suddenly sat up with a huff as she thought of Weiss sitting at her desk the first time she met her. _‘Okay, I can’t take this anymore. I_ can’t _just be imagining this…’_ She thought as she shoved her bookmark in between the pages and reached for her scroll. There was only one person who could confirm her suspicions and thankfully, she had their number.

To Hot Girl Blake 1:25 pm> hey  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:25 pm> i hve question

_Hot Girl Blake 1:26 pm > Yes Yang?_

To Hot Girl Blake 1:27 pm> so im redin ur next book  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:27 pm> iceflower  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:28 pm> and i has question about detec snow

_Hot Girl Blake 1:29 pm > Oh? And what questions do you have about her?_

To Hot Girl Blake 1:30 pm> iz she Weiss?  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:30 pm> she seem very weissy

Yang paused in her texting. Blake usually took a minute or two to text back so Yang was forced to wait patiently while she awaited the writers reply. When she finally did receive a response, Yang had started to feel a bit stir crazy as she picked up her scroll only to do a double take at the single word staring mockingly up at her.

_Hot Girl Blake 1:48 pm > Maybe._

She waited over _fifteen minutes_ for a _maybe_!? Yang couldn’t believe it. “ _Maybe_? What does she mean _maybe_!?” Yang couldn’t help but cry out loud as she sent her next several messages in a flurry of finger taps on her scroll screen.

To Hot Girl Blake 1:48 pm> maybe!!?  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:49 pm> rlly?  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:49 pm> y u do dis?  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:49 pm> blakey ur killin me hur  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:49 pm> Q.Q

She felt like gnawing on her scroll as she waited for Blake's reply. Thankfully, this time she didn’t have to wait as long.

_Hot Girl Blake 1:51 pm > Fine, I’ll give you a proper answer._   
_Hot Girl Blake 1:52 pm > But under no circumstances are you to tell Weiss this because she hasn’t figured it out yet._   
_Hot Girl Blake 1:53 pm > Yes, the character of Detective Snow is based off of Weiss. Because-_   
_Hot Girl Blake 1:54 pm > When I first met her, she was very intimidating and kind of standoffish. So I thought she would make an interesting character in a crime/detective type novel. Granted-_   
_Hot Girl Blake 1:56 pm > The longer I got to know Weiss the more she has calmed down somewhat in personality._

Yang couldn’t help it, she started laughing out loud and fell back against the couch cushions as she continued to fist pump the air in triumph. “HA!! I _knew_ it!!” After a minute of letting out her enjoyment and calming down a fraction, a sudden idea struck Yang that it caused her to shoot back up into an upright position, already typing away her idea to Blake.

To Hot Girl Blake 1:59 pm> OMG  
To Hot Girl Blake 1:59 pm> do u tink we shud introduce rubes 2 her?  
To Hot Girl Blake 2:00 pm> u kno  
To Hot Girl Blake 2:00 pm> play match up?

_Hot Girl Blake 2:02 pm > Absolutely not Yang… No._

Oh that was a challenge if Yang ever heard one. And she was _not_ going to pass this one up! She was going to have _SO_ much fun with this.

To Hot Girl Blake 2:03 pm> u men yang… YES!!

Without missing a beat, as soon as she hit the send button, Yang brought up Ruby’s contact and shot her several quick text messages.

To Ruby 2:03 pm> hey sis  
To Ruby 2:03 pm> question  
To Ruby 2:04 pm> wat u do if u met Dect Snow IRL?

In true Ruby fashion, her younger sister had sent an immediate response that caused Yang to smile like a cheshire cat.

_Ruby 2:04 pm > R U KIDIN ME!!!_   
_Ruby 2:05 pm > I WOOD B ON HER LYKE WHITE ON RICE!!!_

Yang, unable to stop herself from barking out a laugh, only barely refrained from replying _‘You mean white on Weiss?’_ But she would have time for that pun later.

Oh yes, she was _totally_ going to play match up…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey BlackLabyrinth07... Remember your comment way back in chapter one regarding if Whiterose would be a thing? And I replied saying I didn’t know? Well GUESS WHAT THIS MEANS!! >:3
> 
> More sisterly shenanigans are up next!! Prepare yourselves…
> 
> Also shout out to Tuxedobird for writing the Iceflower snip-bits that were included in this chapter!


	23. The Antics of Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Blake's book signings currently over and done with, it's time for her and Yang to prepare for their trip to Haven for what is undoubtedly their biggest challenge. Blake manages to find a solution involving her latest work, only to encounter a completely different issue to take it's place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly longer than the last one with just over 2,500 words. Enjoy! <3

**Saturday, June 15th- 3 weeks until Blake and Yang leave for Haven.**

When Blake woke up that morning she was not expecting to find herself in the awkward predicament that she now currently found herself in.

Granted, things _would’ve_ been easier if her own printer hadn’t decided to kick the bucket earlier that morning. She had turned on the old machine and after attempting to print the first page of her manuscript had to shut it off because it sounded like it was about to explode as it made a horrible grinding noise. When Blake couldn’t get it to turn back on afterwards, she regretfully conceded that she needed to replace it with a new one. Still, this one had lasted her all throughout college and then some, so she was a bit saddened to see it finally pass onto the technological afterlife.

Unfortunately this left Blake with a bit of a dilemma. She was without a working printer and the time it would take to order a new one would take too long for it to arrive before she had her meeting with Weiss next week. So on a whim she texted Yang, asking if she had a printer that she could commandeer in order to save herself the trauma of visiting a local office store and spending sixty dollars on some self service machine.

So that’s how she found herself sitting in Yang’s living room after having the printer moved from Pyrrha’s bedroom to the coffee table.

_“Hey Blake, couldn’t you have just emailed your book to your publisher instead of having to print it all out?”_ Next to Blake’s own laptop on the coffee table was Yang’s, something she admitted to rarely using once in a blue moon if ever. On it though, was a very confused looking Ruby peering back at the two of them on the screen.

Ah yes, the soul reason for Blake's current predicament. Shortly after getting everything set up and the printer started dutifully spitting out page after page, Ruby had contacted Yang and outright _demanded_ to video chat with her older sister. Thus making things a bit awkward because the two women then found themselves forced into ‘ _girlfriend mode_ ’, as Yang liked to call it, without any mental preparation on Blake’s part.

“Well, I _could have_. Though knowing how many emails my publisher receives in a day, doing it this way just makes it easier for me to ensure that she receives it without any issues.” Blake answered in an even tone. Truthfully, Blake did have her manuscript saved onto a USB drive that she intended to hand over to Weiss during their next meeting. Knowing her friend however, despite working with computers and technology all day Weiss enjoyed reading off of good old fashioned paper every now and then. So Blake always took it upon herself to make a physical copy of her manuscripts whenever she worked on something new, knowing that Weiss would appreciate the gesture.

Currently though, Blake was trying her hardest to maintain focus on the printers progress bar shown on her laptop screen rather than on how Yang was sprawled out on the couch next to her. She was especially aware of how Yang’s head was practically in her lap. Well, not _quite_ in her lap, but it was close enough that Blake felt awkward having no other choice than to place her right hand lightly on Yang’s shoulder.

It seemed like after her chat with Pyrrha nearly two weeks ago, Blake had become exceedingly self conscious of her interactions with Yang. She worried that her interests in the blonde were becoming too transparent, too _obvious_. Something that Blake _did not_ want considering how much she respected Yang to allow this whole ‘ _fake dating_ ’ aspect that initially brought them together to ruin their friendship.

“Question for you then babe…” Yang’s voice drew Blake back into the present moment as she looked down at her.

Blake was hard pressed not to stare too intently at her lilac eyes or become enamored by the way her blonde hair blanketed over her lap and spilled onto and off the couch like a golden waterfall. Instead she hummed in non-verbal acknowledgement as she pulled off another stack of completed pages to make room for the printer to spit out more.

“Do you mind enlightening Ruby and I about what happens once you turn this in?” She asked followed by Ruby making an excitable noise of agreement.

Blake felt her ears perk at hearing the genuine curiosity in Yangs voice. “Oh, um… Well, once it’s all written I submit it to Weiss for evaluation. She’ll determine if it meets the criteria or expectations we had previously agreed on regarding the premises the story before she submits it to a review board who provides feedback. Once she receives the feedback she might ask me to revise or rewrite the manuscript before sending it off to the production team so that final edits or cover designs can be completed.” Blake finished with a slight shrug.

_“Wow… So it’s not like, you write something then_ BAM _it’s a book huh?”_ Ruby said as she tilted her head on Yang’s laptop screen. Blake couldn’t help but smile softly at the innocent misconception.

“I’m afraid not.” She subtly shook her head, only then realizing that Yang was unusually quiet on the subject.

Looking down she noticed that Yang was smiling widely up at her. “I love it when you talk nerdy.” She said with a wink, successfully causing Blake to blush something fierce.

_“Oh my Gods you two, just kiss already!”_ Ruby’s too cheerful voice caused Blake’s blush to deepen.

As Blake tried to hide her sudden embarrassment behind her palm, Yang sat up from her position on the couch, putting some much needed space between them. Even if it was only just a few inches as the blonde leaned forwards a bit, pointedly looking at her laptop screen with a raised brow.

“What’s _this_? You want us to kiss? _Right_ in front of you?” Yang scoffed as though she found the thought amusing. “What? Are you so _deprived_ in your own love life that you suddenly decided that you want to live vicariously through your older sis? What happened to the Ruby who was disgusted by something as simple as me making a sex joke during our visit with dad?”

Ruby made a few sputtering noises before pointing at her screen dramatically, presumably at Yang. _“Hey! I am_ not _deprived! I just wanted to get a screenshot of you two kissing! You two are rumored to be like, the_ ultimate couple _and I wanted to show it off to my friends as proof!”_

Blake couldn’t help but hide her embarrassment in both of her palms just then. Oh yes, she was _definitely_ not mentally prepared to deal with the younger sister and her antics. Nor was Blake prepared for her imagination to supply her with the mental imagery of just saying to hell with it and pull Yang closer by the collar of her shirt to deliver said kiss.

Yang’s laughter was loud and full of mirth next to her as Blake herself felt like crawling into a deep dark hole. “Really!? You want to see us kissing so you can, ‘ _show your friends?_ ’" She said while making finger quotations. "That’s a weak excuse Rubes, what about all those pictures you took of us back home? Just show them those, that should be ‘ _proof_ ’ enough.” Yang laughed again while shaking her head at her younger sibling.

_‘Oh thank Oum…’_ Blake thought with relief as she dropped her hands onto her lap. She didn’t think she would be able to fake _any_ sort of kissing at the moment anyway with how wild her emotions have been lately.

Ruby of course let out a sorrowful protest of _“awwww come on!”_ She continued to plead, or attempted to anyway, before she was interrupted by a notification sounding from Blake’s laptop.

“Ooooo looks like the printer is done.” Before Blake could say or do anything, Yang was already reaching across the coffee table as she took hold of the last stack of freshly printed pages. She piled them neatly with the others before letting out a low whistle as she held up the entire stack of papers for Ruby to see. “Behold! Blake’s new book Ruby!”

_“Oh wow… That looks like it’ll be even longer than the last one! How many pages is that Blake?”_ Ruby had leaned closer towards her camera, her face becoming comically large on Yang’s screen.

“Um, just over five hundred pages…” She said shyly as she tried reaching for the now printed manuscript from Yang. The blonde however held it just slightly out of reach before shooting her a smile that was no doubt meant to be mischievous.

“Am I allowed to read this one?” Her tone was hopeful. Before Blake could fathom a response though, she was cut off by Ruby’s loud voice.

_“OH MY GOSH! You get to read her stuff_ BEFORE _everyone else!? Uuuuggghhh That is_ SO _unfair sis! What about me? I wanna read it!”_ The brunette whined loudly as she continued to pout at the camera.

Again, before Blake could correct Ruby’s assumption Yang chuckled at her sisters antics. “ _Please_ , I’m not _that_ lucky Ruby. I would be lucky if Blake lets me glance at her notes before her book hits the shelves.”

_“Wait really? Why’s that?”_ Seriously the way Ruby was able to switch between emotions so easily, and frequently, baffled Blake as she finally managed to take her manuscript from Yang.

Blake shrugged as she set the stack of papers neatly into a manila folder in front of her laptop. “It’s just something I haven’t allowed anyone other than my publisher to do. Though I will occasionally ask Yang for her opinion if I’m having trouble writing a particular scene.”

_“Oooooh... Well then, that makes me feel better.”_ Ruby scrunched her face for a second before suddenly looking thoughtful. _“Soooo do know what this one’s about Yang?”_

Yang looked at her then, a hopeful smile on her face as she awaited the writers permission before she said anything. Blake couldn’t help how cute she thought the blonde looked in that moment before rolling her eyes, nudging Yang with her shoulder. “If you must…”

She made a small noise of triumph before fixing her sister with a huge smile. “I think you’d like this one Ruby! I don’t know much regarding the story itself, but I know it involves knights and princesses. Definitely more of your fairy-tale fantasy setting then her last books that’s for sure.”

_“Oh Cool!"_ Ruby clapped her hands together with childlike excitement before fixing the camera with the most serious expression Blake had ever seen the younger woman make. _"But is it gay though?”_ She asked seriously then, pointing at the screen with both hands still clapped together. 

As Yang started laughing Blake once again buried her face in her palms though this time it was to groan out her frustration. She felt like a headache was forming because Yang had asked her the _same thing_ when the whole printing process began. The answer was _yes_ by the way, and _no_ , she was not going to tell _either_ sister that bit of information just to spite them at this point.

“Aww, come on Blakey, don’t be mad. Here I’ll cheer you up...” Yang sounded close, too close.

She looked up just in time to see Yang’s face encompassing her vision while Ruby made her most excited noise yet. Though the younger sister’s excitement quickly descended into a high pitch wale of _“Aw Wha-_ Yang _! I can’t see anything!!”_ just as Yang kissed the back of her own left hand loudly before leaning back on the couch with a wink as laughter started pouring out of her.

_“That wasn't fair! How am I supposed to take a screenshot when you cover up the camera Yang!”_ Ruby’s words made Blake realize what had happened.

Yang pretended to kiss her!

She felt her cheeks and ears suddenly grow hot with perhaps the most vicious blush she has ever had in her life! “I-I’ll be right back...” Without offering any further explanation Blake stood abruptly and made a beeline down the hall towards the bathroom. The sounds of one sister laughing while the other continued to complain chased her retreating form until she closed and locked the bathroom door behind her.

Putting her back to the door, it was as if her legs could no longer withstand her own weight as she slowly slid down to the floor. Still blushing furiously with her ears pinned back against her scalp, Blake didn’t know which was worse. The fact that Yang hadn’t warned her about the little stunt beforehand or the fact that Blake was disappointed Yang had kissed her hand and _not_ Blake.

“That woman truly will be the death of me…” She muttered to herself as she buried her face in her raised knees and tried to drown out her thoughts.

\---

Yang had to admit, if only silently to herself that she _may_ have overstepped herself as she watched Blake turn the most brilliant shade of red before making a hasty retreat down the hallway. She knew Blake would blush, but that’s not why Yang had leaned over close enough to look as though she was about to kiss the faunus.

It was because Ruby wouldn’t _shut up_ about how her and Blake were such a cute couple prior to their video call that Yang decided that covering up her laptop camera and kissing her hand was easier than trying to further resist the temptation to just kiss Blake on the cheek. Which would had been _definitely_ crossing the line for sure. _'Well, I_ probably _could have gotten away with kissing Blake's hand instead of my own, but I'm pretty sure that would've also been crossing the line...'_ She thought with a laugh just as Ruby's voice drew her attention. 

_“Yang! Seriously! That was_ so _unfair!”_ Ruby pouted at her over her laptop screen, causing Yang to laugh a bit more.

“What? I’ve talked about this with _both_ you and dad! Blake really isn’t the type to for PDA, she gets embarrassed! Like you just saw.” She made a vague gesture over her shoulder in the direction that Blake had fled before reaching onto the coffee table for small pad of sticky notes that sat next to Blake's laptop.

_“Ugggh fine.”_ She looked so defeated that Yang found it adorable that her younger sister could still pull off an award winning pout that could put a toddler to shame.

Quickly, because Yang didn’t know just how long she had before Blake would undoubtedly return with something to smack her with or _worse_ , she scribbled a quick note. Tearing off the post-it note with a flourish she then reached over to Blake’s manuscript and stuck it in between a random page somewhere in the middle of the stack.

_“Whatcha doing?”_ Ruby inquired, no doubt having witnessed Yang’s actions.

“Oh nothing… But, do me a favor Ruby, if you ever get a call or a message from a number ending in 3189, answer it.” Yang replied as she straightened the stack of papers to hide any evidence she may have left.

_“What why?”_

Yang just shot her sister a smirk. “Just do it. Though I don’t know when you might get it. Now, if you don’t mind I have a girlfriend to placate. I’ll text you later nerd!” Ruby let out her own goodbye just as Yang ended the video call.

_‘And now, the waiting game begins...’_ Yang thought with a wide smile as she got up from the couch to track down Blake to offer the faunus a _very long_ apology. And perhaps a plateful of the tuna salad sandwiches she had in the fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, what’s this? What did that note say? What will Blake do? WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT!? You’ll have to wait and see because I’m not telling. :3
> 
> By the way thank you Snow/ToxicExotic for offering their suggestion of Blake ‘working’ on her book with Ruby trying to embarrass Yang. Unfortunately it is an unspoken rule that older siblings are never out done by their younger siblings! I should know, I’m an elder sibling after all… And no, Tux somehow managing to force me into a writing dungeon and keep me here _doesn't_ count… (;>.>)


	24. The Publisher's Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Blake and Yang's upcoming trip to Haven slowly approaching, we'll take a moment to see what the esteemed publisher Weiss Schnee is up to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how in the last chapter you all were yelling about how the bees should just talk/kiss already… I’m just gonna sit here and make stupid giggle noises over that suggestion for a bit longer. Sorry, not sorry! :3 Now here, enjoy another 3,000+ 'mini' chapter. <3

**Friday, June 21st- 2 weeks until Blake and Yang leave for Haven.**

_"You can't! You can't do this, the enemy is too powerful." The maiden pleaded, tugging at the fabric of Handsome J's cloak in hopes to stall the hero's ascent up the mountain._

_Handsome J turned, a splash of ominous lightening cracked atop the dark mountain to illuminate his chiseled features as he stared hard into the maidens beautiful eyes, his jaw set and determined by his task._

_"I must." He spoke, squaring his shoulders before taking the maiden by the shoulders. "But before I do, know that I love you. I will slay this evil fiend and return to take you as my wife. This I vow."_

_The maiden swooned at Handsome J's declaration, and if it wasn't for the hero's strong arms wrapped around her waist she would have fallen to the dirt path in her sudden lust for the handsome reckless fool whom she loved._

With a vicious click of her mouse, Weiss closed out of the document as she couldn’t bring herself to read another sentence. Seriously, if it weren’t for the fact that this particular manuscript was sent to her by email, she would’ve fed it to the nearest shredder and tell the client she was doing him a favor.

Even though this particular manuscript, received from a prospective client, wasn’t the _worst_ thing Weiss had ever read it certainly came close. How anyone could put together something _like this_ and have the _gall_ to tell her that it was a final draft was honestly beyond her. Weiss sighed heavily as she rubbed at her temples. She at least did her do diligence and read _most_ of the manuscript before she couldn’t stand to lose her last functioning brain cell by forcing herself to read another sentence involving grotesquely cliche heroes with a pathetically overdone plot.

As she brought up her email with the intention to send out a denial letter to Mr. Bronzewing regarding his work, Weiss noticed that she had received an email from yet another media journalist. She hovered over it with her mouse for a moment, half tempted to just delete it without opening it before ultimately deciding that, even though as tempting as it was, it wouldn’t have been very professional of her and opened it. Even if it grated on her nerves that these buffoons continued to foolishly think that they could obtain _any_ information from her regarding whatever outlandish subject matter they could pull out of a trash can...

Glancing over its contents Weiss quickly discerned that it was from yet another media tabloid company attempting to gain information on Yang. Though judging from their questionnaire, they were finally past the _‘how long has her relationship been going on with Blake’_ phase and have moved on to more... _Fanciful_ accusations.

In this case, they were inquiring if there was any merit behind the break up rumors stemming from Yang’s past commitment issues.

Weiss rolled her eyes in disgust. _‘Really? Don’t these people have anything_ better _to do with their time?’_ It would seem not as Weiss then brought up her pre-made (and frequently used) response.

_‘To whom it may concern,_

_Unfortunately, even though we can offer confirmation regarding Ms. Xiao-Long’s relationship with Ms. Belladonna, Summoned Knight Publications is not obligated nor required to share any further information detailing the private life of our clients or their significant others._

_Furthermore, Ms. Xiao-Long is not employed, partnered or sponsored by Summoned Knight Publications in any way. Any further inquiries, comments or concerns regarding Ms. Xiao-Long should be addressed to her former manager and head coach, Mr. Junior Club, who’s contact information can be found in the attachment of this response._

_Sincerely,_   
_Weiss Schnee, CEO and Executive Publisher of Summoned Knight Publications.’_

As she sent her response, Weiss sat back in her office chair with a dissatisfied sigh. She really hated reporters. If only because she use to be one when she still worked under her father. Well, not to the same extent as these journalists whom still thought it beneficial to bother her. She at least had underlings for that at the time. One of the reasons that Weiss had left was because she hated dealing with the tedious task of having false rumors ‘ _verified_ ' or ‘ _confirmed_ ' just so they could create a story that would sell off the stands.

To be fair, that was just a small fraction of her reasoning on why she had left her father's employment. The other reason was because she could no longer stand to see what her father was doing with the company. Having turned it into a glorified cash cow built off the preface of rumors and fanciful goings-on of the currently trending celebrities or other prominent figure heads rather than focusing on _actual_ facts or concerns of the general populace. The thought brought a scowl to Weiss’s features but before her thoughts could darken further on the subject the sudden knock on her office door drew her attention.

“Come in.” She called as she straightened in her chair. The sight of Blake peaking around her office door brought a relieved smile to the publishers face. “Hello Blake, you have perfect timing. Come on in.”

As the fanus tentatively walked into the office carrying a thick looking folder, Weiss couldn't help her smile from widening as she tried her best to keep her excitement from becoming too apparent. “Please tell me that’s what I think it is.” Granted there was nothing Weiss could do to keep her tone from sounding hopeful as she motioned towards the folder.

Blake offered her a smile as she gently set it down on her desk along with a USB drive. “It is. I know it’s ahead of schedule but I thought you wouldn't mind if I turned it in early.”

“Please, with how busy I’m keeping you I’m surprised that you were ahead of schedule at all.” Weiss said with a wave of her hand. Honestly she had thought that her friend would be asking for an extension before long. One Weiss would have gladly given her given the circumstances regarding her schedule. But it appeared that Blake was still capable of surprising her as Weiss tried to keep her excitement in check as she tenderly ran her hand over the top of the manila folder.

As she placed the hefty folder neatly off to one side, she noticed that Blake was looking at her with her head slightly tilted, the barest of smiles tugging at the corners of her lips. “What?”

Blake just shook her head lightly. “Nothing really, I was just thinking that you always look... Happy I guess, whenever I submit something.”

Weiss ducked her head to try and hide her smirk before meeting her friends knowing look. “Well, perhaps I am.” She stated matter of factly as she relaxed against her office chair into a near slouched position. Something she normally wouldn’t do in front of others as it wasn’t considered a professional appearance, but Blake was her friend and so Weiss didn’t particularly care. “I’ll have you know that this” she indicated towards the folder, “is perhaps the highlight of my week thus far.”

She watched as her friend wince slightly before looking apologetic. “Are reporters still bothering you?”

_‘Yes but better they bother me than you.’_ She thought before waving the thought away. “Please, they are the _least_ of my worries right now. At least they are capable of coming up with better works of fiction then some of the things I’ve reviewed from the last few prospective clients.” Weiss finished with an unladylike huff as she rolled her eyes, causing Blake to smile knowingly.

“Ah, I see.” She replied simply.

Speaking of reporters... Weiss tapped her desk in thought for a second as she fixed the other woman with a serious look. “Although, if you don’t mind Blake, I do have a question for you.”

She witnessed the writers ears perk slightly as she straightened in her chair. “What is it Weiss?”

Pausing only long enough to formulate how she wanted to phrase her question, Weiss straightened once more in her office chair with her hands folded in front of her. “If it’s alright for me to ask, I was curious about Yang’s prosthetic. Of all the things the media and journalists want to know about the two of you or more specifically, about Yang, none of them have ever commented about her arm.”

As she watched Blake look away with her ears folded back, Weiss was quick to explain herself. “I apologize Blake, it’s just that when Yang showed it to me the first time we met... Well, don’t be mad but I did some research and I’ll have you know that even _I_ couldn’t find anything official in reference to it. And as I mentioned, based off how the media is acting, I assume they don’t know anything regarding the matter either.”

Blake rubbed at her left arm for a moment as she chewed her bottom lip. Of all of her emotions that Weiss has been able to pick up on since working with the faunus, this was the only one she's been able to recognize as Blake being indecisive. “It’s a bit of a touchy subject... Yang doesn’t like having people think of her as weak or broken but…” Blake sighed heavily before meeting Weiss’s questioning gaze.

“What did you find out about Yang during your research?” The faunus asked instead. It was a fair question if Weiss was being honest.

“Not much actually.” She sighed before continuing. “I found plenty of information, or rather tabloids, journal entries and other media reports regarding her fame as a kickboxing middleweight champion up until she lost her last match. After that, nothing. Other that the odd picture or selfie with one of her fans, it was like she dropped off the edge of the universe. I suppose that’s part of the reason why so many people are trying to find out more about her and what she’s been up to since the two of you have been outed as a couple.” Weiss finished by crossing her arms on her desk as she waited for the other woman’s reply.

The faunus wrung her fingers together as she gave a small nod. “Can this stay between us?” She started hesitantly.

Weiss offered a deep nod. “Between friends.”

Blake nodded again as she cleared her throat before speaking. “So during her fight with Adam, her last opponent, I’m not sure if you’ve read about this but he ended up taking measures to ensure he could inflict more damage during their match and broke Yang’s arm. Afterwards when she was on the way to the hospital, her ambulance was in an accident and it took quite a bit of time to get another one out to her to bring her to the hospital. But by then she had developed an infection and had to have her arm amputated.”

Weiss could count on one hand the amount of times where she was struck speechless. This was one of them as she opened and closed her mouth several times before sitting back in her chair. “That’s… _Wow_ …”

“Yeah. She’s been through a lot.” Blake agreed.

Wordlessly Weiss reached up and traced the scar that marred the left side of her face before she mentally shook herself. “Something like that, I’m shocked that it didn’t make the news.”

The writer only offered her a delicate shrug. “Yang said it was because they had bigger fish to fry regarding Adam and how he cheated during their match. But it's also likely because she denied commentary and media attention during the time she spent in the hospital.” Blake sighed then, when she spoke again it sounded sad. “She… Yang wasn’t in the best of places back then according to what she told me. Thankfully when she moved in with her friend, she started to do better. Then of course we met and…” She trailed off, causing Weiss to smile softly.

“As some would say, the rest is history, am I right?” She offered the other woman a warm smile to which the faunus returned with a nod. “Well, good. From the things I read about your girlfriend during the beginning of her career, she was a bit of a party animal. So I’m glad to see that you were able to make something of an honest woman out of her. However her professional etiquette could honestly still use some work…”

Curiously she watched Blake flush a bright pink as she squirmed in her chair a bit. Weiss has never seen her friend become so visibly embarrassed before... Was it something she said? Regardless it was a thought for another day as Weiss didn’t just ask Blake to meet with her today just for some idle chit-chat.

“Well then, shall we officially move onto the purpose for our meeting today?” Weiss began as she withdrew a small stack of papers from her desk.

\---

Regrettably Weiss wasn’t able to start reviewing Blake's manuscript until the following day. After their meeting, she still had several other meetings scheduled throughout the rest of the day. Not to mention the multitude of emails she found herself responding to as well. A few of them being from a few disgruntled clients whom she denied contracts. Including Mr. Bronzewing who had sent her _several_ long winded emails detailing how she wasn’t able to comprehend his work of art.

By the end of the day she was just _so done_ with people that she had accidentally left the manuscript on her desk. Not that Weiss would ever admit it out loud however, but sadly it wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. She was only human after all.

After another long day spent in the office Weiss now found herself curled up on her sofa within the comfort of her own apartment, reading page after page of Blake’s manuscript. She had to admit, it was good so far as she enjoyed the tasteful blend of political intrigue and action the story provided thus far. Considering this was a story she _personally_ challenged Blake to write, Weiss was glad to see that her friend not only rose to the challenge, but so far had exceeded the publishers expectations.

That is until her immersion in the story was interrupted by a bright yellow post-it note stuck to one of the pages about halfway through.

Blinking curiously at it, Weiss plucked it from the page. In unfamiliar handwriting it read, _‘her name’s Ruby, I think you 2 should get to know 1 another. -Y’_ Underneath was a scribbled phone number that Weiss also did not recognized. Though the initial ‘Y’ no doubt meant that this was left by Yang. Or at least she hoped so seeing as Weiss didn’t personally know anyone else whose name began with that particular letter.

Weiss sat staring at the post-it note for longer than she would like to admit before she set aside the manuscript entirely in order to fetch her scroll. She quickly dialed the only number she could think of that would give her an answer regarding the mysterious note.

Blake picked up on the second ring. _“Hello?”_

Granted, Weiss could have contacted Yang if she so chose. But given the short amount of time she has personally known the woman, contacting her girlfriend seemed like the better option. “Hello Blake, sorry to bother you…”

In the background she could hear Yang’s voice ring out _“Is that Weiss? Please tell me that’s Weiss!”_

The publisher couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the eagerness she could hear in the blondes voice. “I’m sorry, did I catch you two at a bad time Blake?”

_“Oh no, of course not. We were just about to watch a movie… What’s up?”_

She tapped her elbow in indecision. Should she ask knowing that Yang was there with Blake? Well, she did want answers... And for perhaps the second time ever Weiss had _both_ Yang and Blake on the line. _‘Might as well.’_ She thought before clearing her throat. “Oh nothing really, I was just in the middle of reviewing your work. By the way it has turned out better than I thought so far. But if I may ask, who is Ruby and why did Yang leave me a note saying I should get to know her?”

As she made her way back to the couch, Weiss could hear Blake’s sharp intake of breath as she began to say something in harsh whispers to Yang. The blonde's own voice was barely heard replying with amusement in the background. Perhaps even a bit of smugness if Weiss was to wager.

When she spoke again, Blake sounded exasperated but if it was at herself or her girlfriend, Weiss couldn’t tell. _“I’m sorry Weiss, Ruby is Yang’s younger sister and she thought it would be a brilliant idea that you two meet.”_

_“Yes! You should call her! She’d love to-”_ She heard Yang’s faint voice yelling in the background once more before Blake silenced her with what sounded like a smack.

Ah, well that certainly explained a lot. “Ah, I see. Well then... Please tell Yang it was a _thoughtful_ gesture, but I am unfortunately a busy woman and will have to regretfully pass on the offer.”

_“I’ll tell her… Again I am so sorry Weiss.”_

“It’s quite alright Blake, thank you for the information. I’ll leave you two be then.” And without further comment, Weiss disconnected the line. After all, she didn’t want to further impose on their night together with her curious line of questioning. Besides, it’s not as if Yang was giving out her number to random strangers out on the streets.

The thought actually made Weiss pause as she took back up Blake's manuscript. At least she _hoped_ Yang hadn’t given out her number...

“She better not have or so help me she’ll _never_ hear the end of it.” Weiss finally muttered to herself as she returned to her reading.

**Saturday, June 29th- 6 days until Blake and Yang leave for Haven.**

Sitting at her kitchen table Weiss stared intently at the stupid post-it note Yang had left her. Why she had held onto it, she wasn’t sure. Only once, she had managed to crumple it up into a small ball and threw it into the trash bin, only to dig it back out after a minute or so and smoothed the tiny square paper back out as best she could. Each attempt to throw it away afterwards, she would stare at it before ultimately tucking it back into her purse.

Surely this is what insanity was. Being taunted by a small strip of paper with a number on it. 

Sighing heavily Weiss tapped the side of her wine glass, her chosen form of liquid courage, as she contemplated once again the merits of just calling the stupid number scrawled out in front of her. She made a disgruntled sound as she rolled her eyes at herself. It would be more accurate if Weiss admitted, if only to herself, that she was just curious to see what this Ruby girl was like.

For instance, was she quiet? Being the sibling of someone like Yang she _highly_ doubted the possibility. What about her personality, was she like her sister in that aspect as well? Gods if she was Weiss might just have to cause Yang physical harm for subjecting her to such torture.

With one last exhale followed by a sip of her wine, Weiss set down her glass and picked up her scroll. “Well, there is only way to find out...” She said with a bit of determination as she punched in the number and pressed the call button.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll leave the conversation dialogue between Ruby and Weiss up to your imagination. I purposely intend to write any and all future interactions between the two to be interpreted as if it’s your thing, it will be. But if not it’ll be easily played off as a platonic relationship. So a win-win for everyone! I hope… *Ahem* 
> 
> Anyway, thank you TuxedoBird for taking a hot minute to write the beginning of this chapter, (I still can’t decide if it’s horrible or trashy, so therefore it’s perfect) including BlackLabyrinth07 and GlareTLock for your suggestions that went into this chapter. It allowed me to write a bit more background regarding Weiss, including those pesky reporters that I keep forgetting about, but are unfortunately still a thing. Though they will make a slightly bigger appearance later on. >:)
> 
> See you all in the next (and last) mini chapter! Well, the last one for now that is. -_^


	25. The Shopping Adventure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Blake and Yang's upcoming trip to Haven only days away, it's time for some last minute shopping! Of course, Yang discovers that nothing ever goes precisely as planned but quickly finds a solution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one turned out to be just shy of 3k words! (2,900 and some change) But I hope you all enjoy it all the same.

**Monday, July 1st- 4 days until Blake and Yang leave for Haven.**

Yang frowned as she looked out the living room window. Of all the days it finally decides to rain, it chooses today to pour _literal_ buckets all over the place. The weather report said it was supposed to be sunny! _Pfft_... Meteorologists… What do they know?

Under normal circumstances Yang would’ve welcomed the rain. It meant she could stay indoors in her pj’s and doze on and off to the soothing pitter-patter sounds it created on the roof. Despite still being in her pj’s, Yang didn’t have the option to stay indoors today.

For today was her day to do grocery shopping and Pyrrha was away at work, meaning that Yang was without a vehicle. And there was _zero_ chance in hell that she was going to walk outside in _that_. Not to mention the time spent waiting at the bus stop only to walk more in the miserable conditions to the store. Just to repeat the process with the additional burden of bags of precious foodstuffs for the house on the return trip.

_Nuh-uh_ , not going to happen.

_‘But what to do? The house currently has nothing consumable and I also need to shop for some stuff for the trip.’_ Yang thought as she continued to watch the rain fall down in sheets with her hands on her hips. That is until the thought of Blake crossed her mind.

Stepping away from the window Yang paused as she reached for her scroll. They had been hanging out a lot more as of late… Asking her wouldn’t make her appear _too_ needy, right? After all, they shared their own weekly movie nights now because with Blake’s anxiety, Yang felt uncomfortable asking her to constantly join in on the Saturday outings she shared with Pyrrha and Jaune.

Still… The groceries won't buy themselves. What if she made it worth the other woman's time? Wait, in what way would she do that? Offer to make her lunch or dinner? Both? She’ll definitely do it for a cup of tea… _‘Just call her already. The worst she’ll do is tell you no you big baby.’_ Yang shook her head as she dialed Blake’s number. _Ugh_ … Yang knew it to be a rough day when she’s _too lazy_ to text.

Blake’s sleepy voice sounded on the fourth ring. _“Mmm Hello?”_

“Uh… Hey. Sorry, did I catch you sleeping?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Blake spoke again. _“It would appear so… Did you try to text me?”_

Yang couldn’t help but smile softly at the imagery of Blake trying to read, perhaps on the couch before falling asleep where she lay. Book still opened to the page she was on either loosely held in one hand or cradled against the faunus’s chest like a teddy bear.

_“Yang are you still there?”_

_‘Whoops, caught daydreaming, again….’_ She thought with a bit of embarrassment. “Y-yeah sorry. Guess I’m just out of it today. Anyway, no I didn’t text you or anything. I was wondering if I can ask you for a favor if you’re not too terribly busy.”

_“Well unless you count waiting on the review board to provide their feedback regarding my work then yes, I am_ extremely _busy.”_ There was a light teasing note to Blake’s tone that Yang couldn’t help but smile at.

“Yeah I bet you’re just _swamped_. Is that why I woke you from your cat nap? Are you being overworked to the point of exhaustion Blake? Do I need to beat Weiss up now?” Yang effortlessly teased back. It at least earned a huff of a laugh out of Blake, so she counted it as a win.

_“What is it that you need help with Yang?”_

“Weeeelllll…” She started as she looked back out the window. Yup, still raining cats and dogs out there. “If you wouldn’t mind, I needed to go shopping for some stuff for the house. But Pyrrha has the car and well, have you _seen_ what it’s like outside? Plus I need to pick up some last minute things for our trip to Haven.”

There was a moment of pause on the other line where Yang could hear a bit of rustling of fabric. Either from Blake confirming the weather or pushing aside a blanket, she wasn’t sure. _“Ah, I see what you mean. If you don’t mind waiting a bit, I’ll be over shortly.”_

Yang let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. “Yeah sure, I’ll wait for as long as it takes. Just, be careful on the way here yeah?”

_“Will do, see you soon Yang.”_

“Yup!” Yang said cheerfully, letting the ‘p’ pop as the line was disconnected. “Alright, ride to the store has been achieved! New mission… Putting on pants…” Yang said to herself as she proceeded to retreat into her room for said pants.

\---

The rain was still coming down hard as Blake pulled up into the driveway. Though despite parking as close to the front door as the driveway would allow, Yang was still subjected to resembling a drenched rat during the two seconds it took for her to run out and hop into the passenger seat. Which admittedly didn’t put Yang in the greatest of moods cause wet jeans were the _worst_ , but she was at least able to laugh it off as she thanked Blake once again for her assistance.

From there, the two of them agreed to go shopping together. It made sense after all, it wasn’t like Yang had expected Blake to just dump her in front of the local grocery store and expect her to trudge back home herself. Okay, _maybe_ she was worried Blake would do that for like, _half_ a second. But Blake was quick to comment that she also required certain items for both home and the upcoming trip that she inquired if it would alright if she could tag along.

Like Yang would ever tell her no.

So that’s how Yang found herself in a part of town she’d never been to, while staring wide eyed at the inside of a supermarket she never knew existed. “Woah… Blake I’m not gonna lie, this place looked like it would be a lot smaller on the outside...” Yang commented over her shoulder as she waited for Blake to catch up. The faunus had the foresight to bring an umbrella along with her, something Yang wished she owned since waking up that morning instead of having to resort to relying on her baggie black and yellow hoodie to keep her hair dry. Which it didn’t. _Ugh_...

For their shopping expedition, it was easily decided that they would be doing it at a place that Blake was both comfortable and familiar with. Though when they arrived, the outside appearance had left Yang with the impression that Blake did her shopping at a small mom & pop type corner store. But the interior was _massive_!

“It used to be smaller, though not by much. I think the place underwent an expansion a year or two ago but I don’t really remember.” Blake commented just as she finished shaking the excess rain from her umbrella before folding it close.

“ _Used_ to be smaller she says…” Yang commented quietly with a laugh as she peeled her hoodie back and attempted to straighten her damp hair into a resemblance of tidiness as she walked over to the rows of shopping carts. “Well, shall we get our shopping adventure started then Blake?” Yang couldn’t help her playful smile as she motioned for Blake to lead the way.

“Sure.” Blake may have rolled her eyes but Yang saw the ghost of a smile that played on her lips. Yeah, Yang was a _total sucker_ for that smile.

As they descended into the store Yang was quick to pick up on the reasons why Blake liked shopping here. Besides the lack of people, it was obviously faunus friendly. Or she assumed it was seeing as that the few shoppers Yang saw milling about along with the various staff going about their tasks were largely of faunus heritage at least.

Not that it really made a difference to Yang. She actually found the atmosphere of the supermarket kind of relaxing compared to the one she normally shopped at. Though that could very well be from the sheer lack of screaming children running around their haggard looking parents and the extreme couponers that always argued with the poor overworked cashiers as they held up the checkout lines.

Not long after entering the store, the pair had made their way to the produce section where Yang loaded up the cart with various veggies while double checking her scroll. “Alright… Where are the zucchini’s at?” She muttered as she glanced at the wall of veggies before her. Seriously, why do zucchini and cucumbers have to look alike? She couldn’t ask Blake because she had kindly asked the faunus to pick out a few red bell peppers for tonight’s dinner, so she wasn’t able to gain her assistance until she returned.

“Are you looking for these here my dear?” The previously unseen elderly woman’s voice nearly spooked Yang out of her skin. Turning, or more accurately, _looking down_ she was greeted by perhaps the _smallest_ person Yang has met that was an adult.

The elderly woman barely reached Yang’s stomach and had snowy white hair pulled back into a bun with the littlest of deer horns poking through. When she looked up to smile at Yang, her kind blue eyes were made cartoonishly large looking by the overly thick glasses that she wore. With an outstretched hand she was pointing at a lower section, previously unseen due to the height difference, were various types of squash were laid out.

“Uh… Yeah actually. Thanks.” Yang offered her a wide appreciative smile.

“Oh it was no trouble, no trouble at all. Oh hello Blake! It’s so good to see you again deary.” Her greeting alerted Yang of Blake’s return, looking up just in time to see the elderly faunus take hold of both of the writers hands in hers.

“Hello Aunt Pat. How are you?” Blake offered her an affectionate smile. Wait, did she say ‘Aunt’?

The elderly faunus gave a good-natured chuckle and patted Blake’s hands before letting go. “Wonderful my dear, just wonderful. I must admit that I’d never thought I’d find you in the produce section deary. What are you planning on cooking tonight?”

When Blake looked up to catch Yang’s eye, the blonde couldn’t help but give her a knowing smile. “Actually, I’m not the one cooking. You would have to ask my friend here what she intends to do with these.” She indicated by holding up the bagged bell peppers.

As Aunt Pat’s large blue eyes turned towards Yang, she couldn’t help but rub at the back of her neck as she felt like she was suddenly under inspection. A feeling solidified by the way the elderly faunus adjusted her large glasses before smiling widely. “Friend? _Ooo_ , this must be the _girlfriend_ I keep hearing about then! So wonderful to finally meet you. So tell me my dear, are you making anything special for this evening?”

For once, Blake wasn’t the only one who was blushing as Yang felt her own cheeks grow warm.

“Oh, uh… Well I found a recipe for a Menagerie dish involving stuffed bell peppers with tomato sauce that I wanted to try out.” She hadn’t shared that information with Blake yet, as Yang had found the recipe online while waiting to be picked up with the intention to surprise Blake later for her help. But what are you supposed to do when directly asked by perhaps the sweetest old lady ever?

Especially when she gave Yang the biggest smile as she proceeded to help pick out all the things Yang would need from the produce section with fervor. Apparently Aunt Pat knew of the dish Yang had intended to make as it was one of her favorites, even going so far as to also provide Yang with a few pointers before parting ways. Though not before commenting on how the two women made such an adorable couple, with the additional comment that Blake was lucky to have found herself a woman who could cook.

“Okay Blake I have to ask, was that _really_ your Aunt?” Yang had waited until they were well out of earshot before asking in a hushed tone.

Blake, who’s cheeks seemingly never lost their pinkish tint since Aunt Pat’s last parting comment, gave her perhaps the most adorably bashful look. “No, she frequently shops here so our paths have crossed a few times. She owns an antique store if I remember right. I’m told everyone calls her ' _aunt_ ' because she treats everyone she meets like family, and even though she’s in her eighties I forgot that she has a picture perfect memory. I must have mentioned having a girlfriend during the last time she and I met.” She finished with a sigh.

Yang couldn’t help but chuckle at her. “It’s no biggie Blake. Besides, at least with all the pointers she gave me I feel pretty confident that dinner will turn out amazing tonight.”

“Any reason why you wanted to try cooking a Menagerie dish?” Blake asked with a hum as they turned down the canned food aisle.

_‘To impress you…’_ Yang thought, though she offered Blake a simple shrug instead. “Oh you know, wanted to try something new and the pictures looked tasty. So I thought why not? Besides, it’s a thank you for helping me out today.”

Blake nodded silently with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, causing Yang to smile back like a dork as they continued with their shopping.

Despite there being barely anyone in the supermarket to begin with, thanks to the combination of the time of day and weather keeping most people at home, it unfortunately wasn’t long before both Blake and Yang were interrupted once more. Though this time their interruption came in the form of not an adorable elderly woman, but by a pair of gym jockeys who wore muscle tees and flip flops with a complete disregard for the miserable weather outside.

Yang had caught sight of them first from the corner of her peripheral while Blake was preoccupied picking out some travel sized toiletries for herself. She saw one of them, his face and shoulders covered in brightly colored scales, pat his buddy with a lion's tail on the shoulder and pointed in their direction before sharing a hushed conversation. At first she thought nothing of it, that is until the two men started to walk purposefully towards them.

Not knowing what the pair wanted, Yang immediately became defensive and put herself in between them and Blake who still hadn’t noticed their approach. She was half tempted to scare them off with a menacing look, but instead she greeted them with a smile knowing from past experience that if these guys were looking for a confrontation it would at least throw them off.

“Sup guys, can I help you?” Yang kept her tone friendly as she crossed her arms. Her greeting finally alerted Blake to the unexpected company as Yang felt the other woman take a fistful of her sweater.

“Yeah actually, we were wondering if ‘ya might be that former kickboxer, Fire-Dragon Xiao Long?” Yang admittedly was the one thrown for a loop as the guy with the scales practically beamed at her.

Oh… _OH_! Yang couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle as she suddenly felt foolish. Fanboys… They were just a pair of _fanboys_! Giving them a second, more serious look she probably should have known that based off their muscle tees alone. The lion faunus wore a shirt that said _‘I got 99 problems but a front kick ain't one’_ while the one with scales read, _‘tacos and kickboxing make me happy.’_

Really, it should have been obvious…

“Yup, that’s me.” Yang tried her best to keep her embarrassment from sounding in her voice as she felt Blake let go of her sweater, giving her shoulder a small pat in sympathy. Well, it was safe to assume that Blake was at least comfortable with the outcome. And really, that’s all that Yang really cared about as she relaxed her posture.

For the next several minutes Yang found herself chatting with Baxter, the faunus with scales, and his friend Lonnie, the lion faunus. Of course after signing their shirts (which thankfully neither of them made comment about her arm) Lonnie had shyly asked if Yangs _‘super cute girlfriend’_ would be willing to take a group picture of them.

Yeah… Yang perhaps took _too much_ enjoyment from the intended complement, even though Blake wasn’t _actually_ her girlfriend but hey, she wasn’t going to correct him. Besides, watching how adorably flustered Blake became as he handed her his scroll was well worth it.

After several goofy pictures were taken before they parted ways, the rest of the shopping adventure was pretty cut and dry. Yang doubled and triple checked that she hadn’t forgotten anything as she and Blake made their way to check out and proceeded to make their purchases with ease. The weather on the other hand hadn’t improved much. It wasn’t pouring buckets, but it was still something Yang would rather not walk out into. Especially while burdened with various groceries bags.

In the end, Blake was sweet enough to drive her car up to the curb so Yang didn’t have to be out in the rain longer than necessary. It was times like these that Yang wished she could just give her the biggest kiss as a show of thanks.

Maybe one day… For now however she would settle for cooking Blake a nice little dinner and perhaps watch a movie together afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aunt Pat is a character I stole from TuxedoBirds story, _One Venti of the Day Please!_ Because she is adorable AF! Also, FYI Yang was making stuffed bell peppers with Mediterranean tomato sauce and rice. Cause I googled _‘simple but fancy dinners’_ and it was the first one that popped up. I even made it myself and yes, it was tasty! 
> 
> ANYWHO, this mini chapter featured more of YagaYuu’s suggestion involving our bees being mistaken for a couple including ALL the blushing. I also wanted to add in Therandompers suggestion of having our bees channel their ship name, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a suitable way to include it into this chapter. HOWEVER, even though it wasn’t used in a mini chapter, I found the perfect place in my outline to include it in one of the longer chapters. So you’ll have to wait and see when the time comes Therandompers. I promise you wont be disappointed. >:3
> 
> Stay tuned! Next week our bees are finally making their way to Haven!
> 
> (( P.S.S- Here's a picture I drew of Aunt Pattie btw because seriously, she's ADORABLE... https://tinyurl.com/AuntPattie ))


	26. The Writers Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip to Haven is finally here! Meanwhile Blake is faced with more than one challenge...

“Tell me again why our flight to Haven was scheduled at one in the _fucking_ morning?” Yang whined perhaps a bit too loudly in the mostly empty waiting lobby.

“Language…” Blake’s tone was low and full of warning. Under any other circumstances Yang wouldn’t have cowed at being told to watch her language, but considering that the faunus was undoubtedly just as tired as she was, Blake was definitely not in the best of moods to begin with.

The two of them had arrived at the airport about an hour ago, courtesy of Jaune who dropped them off on his way to his internship, and after going through the process of checking in and going through security they _still_ had roughly thirty minutes until their plane was scheduled to arrive. The main contributing factor to Yang’s sour mood however was that _nothing_ was open at this hour inside the airport. Not even the wanna-be Mickey D's was open.

_‘I could kill for a cup of coffee right about now…’_ Yang sighed as she leaned over the armrest of the crappy airport lobby chair to give Blake a one armed hug. “Sorry, I guess I’m just cranky from lack of caffeine.”

She felt Blake relax a bit at the apology as she leaned into the hug. “Me too. And to answer your question, it’s because red-eye flights typically have less people, _so_ …” She offered as Yang nodded.

“Right…” Of course it meant less people. She knew that... Taking one look around the waiting area was proof enough of that. There was _maybe_ two dozen people scattered about the lobby, patiently waiting for their own flights at various terminals. Honestly though it wasn’t the flight that concerned Yang, it was what awaited them once they arrived in Haven that put her on edge.

She had checked the flight details the day prior in order to prepare herself to help Blake through _any_ situation that may occur. Looking back though Yang honestly should have checked it sooner because yes, their flight may have been scheduled to leave Vale around 1:30 am with perhaps a handful of people on board. But they were then scheduled to land in Shion Village with an hour and a half layover and were expected to become a full flight before _finally_ landing in Haven. And if Yang did her math right, by the time they finally made it to their destination it would be just about ten in the morning.

Which of course meant loads of people both inside and outside the airport.

Something told Yang that Blake was aware of the dilemma, thus explaining her current level of grumpiness that her lack of tea couldn’t explain for.

Noticing that her arm was still wrapped around Blake, Yang moved away just enough to start rubbing at the faunus’s upper back. A task made easy since her dark hair was wrapped up in a messy bun. “So…” She began, smiling lightly at the sight of Blake closing her eyes as she visibly relaxed further. “I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned that I’ve never been to Haven before. What about you?”

Blake hummed in thought as she swayed lightly from Yang’s gentle touch. “My parents often traveled there for business. I joined them a few times when I was a teenager but it's been a few years as the last time I visited Haven was for my friends wedding.”

“Was that before or after… You know?” Yang awkwardly asked. Perhaps if they were in private she would have specified if it was before or after Blake’s stabbing incident, but she didn’t want to risk anyone overhearing her. Even though the nearest person was about ten feet away and undeniably asleep.

“After.” Blake sighed.

Yang felt herself wincing in sympathy. “Oh… Well, how did you handle the commute?” She bit her lip lightly before shaking her head. “Sorry Blake. I’m just, well to be blunt, I'm worried about you and I’m just trying to figure out how I can help is all.”

Blake offered her a tired looking smile. “It’s okay, you just being here helps.”

“Oh yeah?” Yang couldn’t stop the goofy smile spreading across her lips.

“Yeah…” Blake nodded. “If my friend hadn’t begged me to attend the ceremony I would have just sent him a card and saved myself the stress. But he was insistent, so I found a way to manage it.”

Yang offered the writer a sympathetic smile. “On a scale of one to ten how horrible was it?”

With a defeated sigh, Blake leaned forward with her elbows resting on her knees before burying her face in her hands. “On the plane, I had to get up to vomit so often that the stewardess thought I was going through morning sickness.”

At her first amused snort Blake groaned, causing Yang to further descend into a fit of laughter. She tried her best to smother the sound but failed miserably judging by the few people, including waking the previously slumbering individual, who turned their heads to look in their direction trying to figure out what was so amusing at such an early hour. Not like Yang cared, as watching the embarrassment seep into Blake's features made it worth it.

“Ha! Wow Blakey… Did you at least score some extra saltines during your flight?” Yang managed to tease through her continued fit of giggles. The way Blake’s cat ears folded back against her scalp was answer enough as fresh laughter bubbled up out of Yang's chest.

By the time her laughter died down, the crappy intercom crackled to life. The barely understandable monotone voice announcing the arrival of their plane, informing them that the docking procedures were currently underway. It was a sobering mood as Yang stood, shrugging on her backpack while Blake gathered up her laptop bag. The rest of their luggage had to be checked in, which suddenly reminded Yang that was another thing she needed to worry about. How would Blake handle the craziness that is airport baggage claim?

_‘One thing at a time…’_ She thought as she drew in a deep breath to calm her thoughts. A few minutes later the first few people shuffled out of the terminal. Each one in varying stages of caffeinated deprived zombification until the intercom came back to life announcing that boarding procedures for their flight would begin momentarily.

She glanced at Blake, noticing the worry on her features before tentatively reaching over to take the writer's hand. When her golden eyes looked over at her, Yang offered her a reassuring smile. She knew Blake was undoubtedly nervous about what lay ahead of them. After all, they were about to get on a several hour long flight and end up in one of the busiest terminals in Remnant which no doubt will be filled with people. And she was trusting Yang to help her through all of that without ending up in a panic attack in the middle of a _very_ public place.

Yeah sure, no pressure…

Yang could feel a headache forming. She took in a long drawn breath and released it slowly. She could do this. Blake was counting on her after all.

\---

Yang had decided to convince Blake to write something during the flight. It didn’t matter what honestly, considering it was meant to be a distraction. Though Yang wouldn’t have been surprised if Blake wrote _‘I hate crowds’_ over and over again. The distraction worked though as the flight went smoothly. So smoothly in fact that Blake hadn’t noticed they landed in Haven until Yang regretfully informed her. Then came the hard part.

Getting to the baggage claim area took far longer than Yang imagined. She did her best to keep Blake close to the walls, while she positioned herself as best she could between the numerous people and the writer. It was slow going as they had to make frequent stops so that Blake cloud rein in her anxiety with Yang’s assistance, but thankfully they still managed to grab their luggage from the conveyor belt before it’s last cycle. After that, procuring a taxi was easy since the streets outside were lined with them, all set for the easy job of picking up already travel wary clients and carting them off to their desired destination.

However neither Yang or Blake had fully relaxed until they finally made it to the safety of their hotel room. It was moderately sized with access to a small balcony and even came with a small loveseat and coffee table that faced a wide holo screen TV. Not the fanciest hotel room Yang had ever been in, but it certainly was leagues better than the seedy low-cost motel room she had half expected. Not to mention there were two beds.

It was such a simple thing yet Yang had found it amusing as she couldn’t stop herself from chuckling as she deposited their luggage by the foot of the bed closest to the door. “Darn, and here I thought we get to also fall into the _‘there’s only one bed’_ trope.”

“What does that even mean?”

Okay, Yang had to admit that it took a lot to restrain herself from not whirling around to stare dumbfounded at Blake. She sounded exhausted so maybe, Yang hoped anyway, that Blake didn’t get the joke because she couldn’t _brain_ at that precise moment. Though when she turned to face Blake and saw the honest confusion written on the other woman’s face, it caused Yang to do a double take.

“It’s a joke Blake… Get it? The fanfiction trope? There’s only one bed so the two protagonists have to share…?” She watched Blake scrunch her brows adorably before her golden eyes surveyed the room.

“But there’s two beds.”

_‘She is_ so lucky _I find her cute.’_ Yang thought exasperatedly as she face palmed. “Blake, sweetheart… I _know_ there’s two beds. I was just saying _if_ there was only one, it would be _funny_ because we’d be like, a _double trope_ cause we’re fake dating already and… _Aannnd_ what are yo-” Of course, Yang was interrupted by a pillow being smacked into her face.

As Blake struck her with the pillow several times, Yang couldn’t help her sudden sense of dejavu as she laughed out loud while attempting to block each blow. At least the pillow was made of better material this time.

Eventually Yang found herself falling backwards onto the mattress with an ‘ _oumf_ ’ in which Blake hit her one last time. “You are _insufferable_ …” She heard Blake utter as she hazard a glance at the other woman. She couldn’t help but laugh at the way Blake’s ears were tilted so far back they blended with her hair along with her cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink.

“So you keep telling me.” Yang raised herself up on one elbow, a smirk already playing on her lips as she thought of something. “Is it because I called you sweetheart?”

Her answer came in the form of the pillow being thrown at her face causing Yang to laugh once more, only vaguely aware of Blake retreating into the bathroom and nearly slamming the door behind her.

\---

Blake didn’t know why she retreated into the bathroom, she just did. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, noticing the flushed tint to her cheeks causing her ears to further tilt back in embarrassment.

Leaning against the bathroom door, she could still hear Yang’s laughter filter through the wood. _‘Is it because I called you sweetheart?’_ The blondes teasing voice still resounded in Blake’s ears as she buried her face in both hands as she slowly slid down onto the linoleum floor.

Yes, it was because Yang called her that…

Blake felt like groaning into her palms, the only thing stopping her was the thought of Yang being able to overhear it. How was she supposed to contain her feelings for Yang when she called her endearing terms like _that_ in private? Even her occasional flirty comment or quip were starting to become too much for the writer to handle while the two were alone. At least when Yang said or did those things with other people present, Blake was at least able to contain herself...

_‘Wait…’_ Slowly pulling her hands away from her face, Blake was struck by an idea. She was in Haven, she had friends in Haven. Friends she hasn’t seen in a long time even. It wouldn’t be too unreasonable for her to want to reach out to them for some company, would it? Surely not. Besides, it would be like killing two birds with one stone. One being that Blake would be able to reconnect with friends and second, put herself in an environment where she could _reasonably_ handle Yang’s flirtatious nature.

Nodding to herself, Blake slowly stood up, giving her reflection a determined look before exiting the bathroom and making a beeline for her laptop bag. From the corner of her vision she could see Yang still lounging on the bed, lilac eyes watching her curiously but otherwise remained silent as Blake fished out her scroll from one of the front pockets. Locating Sun’s number in her small list of contacts, Blake sent him a quick message informing him to call her at his earliest convenience.

“Telling Weiss that we made it to Haven in one peice?” Yang never the one to sustain long periods of silence asked.

“Weiss doesn’t text.”

“Oh… Sorry.” There was something that sounded like hurt in Yang’s voice that had Blake realize she had snapped out her reply without meaning to.

_‘Smooth one Belladonna…’_ She chastised herself before offering Yang an apologetic look. “Sorry, I’m still a bit stressed from the flight here…”

She watched Yang brighten a bit at the apology. Her smile warm and understanding like always, causing the obnoxious butterflies to start fluttering in Blake’s chest. “It’s all good Blake. You know me, when I’m bored I get nosey.” Yang waved her apology off as she sat up, readjusting herself into a sitting position on the bed.

Feeling the sudden need to be closer to the blonde, Blake opted to sit next to Yang rather than on the opposing bed. “Well, if you’re interested, the friend I mentioned back at the airport still lives in the area. Depending on his availability, would you like to meet him?”

Yang looked thoughtful for a moment before shooting her a bright smile. “Sure! I’ve subjected you to meeting my friends, it would only be fair.”

Her eagerness caused an honest smile to tug at Blake’s lips. “Okay then.” She started to say before her shyness finally caught on to the close proximity she shared with the blonde. Standing back up, Blake quickly occupied herself with organizing her belongings next to the unclaimed bed as she spoke of her plans. “I sent my friend a text asking him to call me when he gets the chance. Knowing him though he may not respond for some time.”

“Sweet, gives me time to catch up on my beauty sleep then.” Blake heard rather then saw Yang flop back onto the bed. Admittedly, sleep sounded wonderful. The both of them had been up since about 11 pm and she doubted Yang had found much sleep during the flight. Actually, she was fairly certain she didn’t sleep at all as Blake remembered seeing Yang either reading or watching her type the few times she glanced in her direction.

Quickly grabbing a pair of dark sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt from her suitcase, Blake retreated back into the bathroom. Only this time to change clothes rather than hide like a child. It only took her a few minutes but when she re-emerged she was greeted by the sight of Yang, still clothed in her blue jeans and flannel shirt completely passed out and taking up as much space as possible on the bed. Blake couldn’t help but smile at the sight as she silently admired how Yang’s blonde hair formed a golden halo as it blanketed the pillow beneath her. What felt like too soon Blake forcefully tore her gaze away in order to turn the light off before crawling under the covers of the other bed.

Sleep came to her almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

\---

Blake knew she dreamt. About what she wasn’t sure as the sound of her scroll blaring with an incoming call dragged her conscious mind unwillingly back into the real world. She reached out with a fumbling hand for the device before answering with a sleepy “Hello?”

_“Blake? Holy Cow what’s up! I haven’t spoken to you in_ forever _! Hey, I didn’t catch you at a bad time did I? Your text said to call so I’m just following your instructions…”_

“Hello Sun.” The sound of her excitable friends voice had the writer feeling much more awake as she sat up on the bed. She could hear Yang begin to stir slightly causing her to feel a small pang of guilt at having accidentally woken her blonde companion.

_“So dude, whatcha’ doin’? How have ‘ya been? Anything wild and exciting I should know about?”_ His rapidly asked questions had Blake rolling her eyes. It would appear that time had not changed her friend in the slightest.

“I’ve been well. I actually wanted to call and see if you’d be available to get together later today.”

There was a pregnant pause on the opposing line before she heard Sun’s excited squeal that only he could manage erupt through the scrolls receiver.

_“You’re in town!?_ SINCE WHEN _!? For how long? Oh my Oum_ HECK YES _! I would_ totally _be down to hang out later!!”_

Blake couldn’t help her quiet laugh. The sound however fully woke Yang as she heard her let out an audible yawn as she shifted into a sitting position on the other bed. Glancing in her direction Blake was greeted by a wild display of gold as Yang’s hair caught the slivers of the afternoon sunlight that somehow managed to peek through the hotel curtains. It gave the former fighter an almost ethereal look that the faunus found rather enthralling.

_“Heellloooo? Blake are you still there?”_ The sound of Sun’s voice had Blake realize that she had been staring as she quickly cleared her throat.

“Yeah sorry, I’m still a bit jet lagged is all.” She lied easily as she averted her gaze to stare down at her lap instead. “To answer your question, yes, I just got into town this morning. I’m participating in the local author’s convention for a Q and A panel, so I’m here for the week.”

Sun made a low whistle on the other end of the line. _“Woah, that’s awesome! Hey, I thought you and crowds don’t go together though, are you like, okay with it now?”_

Blake couldn’t help her sigh. “No. Far from it actually.”

_“Ah I see… Well, on the bright side if you’re down to have dinner with Neptune and I, we know the_ chillest _place to eat! We’ll even come pick you up if you want! What do ‘ya say?”_

At that Blake couldn’t help her gaze from drifting back over to Yang. She looked much more awake as she sat on the edge of her bed, combing her fingers through her hair in an attempt to tame it as she kicked her feet slightly. When she noticed Blake’s gaze she offered her a small smile.

“Dinner sounds lovely, but it wouldn’t just be me actually. Would it be alright if I brought someone along?” She asked hesitantly.

_“_ Psh _, what kind of question is that? Of_ course _it’ll be fine! The more the merrier right?”_ Blake could imagine the wide smile that Sun undoubtedly had plastered on his face.

“Thanks Sun. Just send me a text when you and Neptune would like to have dinner and I’ll send you the address to the hotel I’m staying at.”

_“Awww yeah! Sounds like a plan to me! I can’t wait to tell Nep about this! Talk to you soon Blake!”_

“Bye Sun.” As she disconnected the call she couldn’t help but smile at her scroll.

“Soooo…Is this the same Sun you mentioned dating once before?” Yang’s questioning voice had suddenly drew Blake’s attention. She looked up to see Yang examining her fingernails in an almost nonchalant way which if Blake was being honest, was an odd site. Although she could just be seeing things.

Regardless, she cleared her throat and nodded. “Yes.” She watched as Yang’s shoulders droop slightly at her answer.

“Oh…” Was the only thing Yang said as she then rubbed the back of her neck while not meeting Blake’s gaze.

Yang’s behavior… Well if Blake was being honest it was kind of confusing. Was she worried? _‘Perhaps she’s worried about the same things I was when I first met Pyrrha and Jaune…’_ The more she thought about it the more certain the writer became of it.

“Yang, I have to warn you, I’m not sure if Sun or his husband are aware of um… Well ‘ _us_ ’.” When Yang blinked back at her in a confused manner it caused Blake to sigh apologetically as she tried to think of a better explanation. “They are aware that I am, or claimed to be, dating _someone_. But I don’t know if they are aware of the story that you and I are ‘ _dating_ ’. So when we meet up with them we might have to pretend to be… _You know_ …” Despite her best efforts Blake could feel her cheeks grow warm with her growing embarrassment.

Seriously, how Yang was able talk about interacting as a couple, or enabling ‘ _girlfriend mode_ ’ without so much as batting an eye was beyond the faunus.

Yang thankfully seemed to catch onto what she was saying though, looking relieved by the clarification as she nodded once. “Right… Gotcha. I take it you never told them your secret then?” She asked, making it Blake’s turn to nod.

“Unfortunately not. Don’t get me wrong, I do trust my friends but when it comes to secrets, unless it pertains to their job, they don’t usually stay secret for long.” She sighed heavily then. “They are aware of my ochlophobia however, including how I developed it. So at least when we meet up with them we won’t have to worry about that being an issue at least.”

“Good to know I won’t be the only one looking out for you then.” Yang said with a small smile before stretching her arms high above her head causing a vertebrae or two to pop audibly as she did so. “Whelp, if it’s alright with you, I’m in need of a shower. Do you need the bathroom for anything before I take it over?” When Blake shook her head Yang leapt off the bed with a bit of a flourish. “Alright then, try not to be _too bored_ without me.” She said with a bright smile before scooping up her duffel bag to rummage through it. Of course, once she withdrew her necessary items she just had to throw Blake a wink over he shoulder as she disappeared into the bathroom.

Blake waited to hear the shower start before flopping back onto the bed, burying her face into the soft pillow and groaning out her frustration. She could already feel her stress start to build up at the prospect of pretending to be Yang’s girlfriend in front of her own friends. She really didn’t want to lie to them, though at the same time she hoped that neither one of them weren’t nearly as perceptive as Pyrrha. Blake just shuddered at the thought. It was if the redhead already _knew_ of Blake’s deeply guarded feelings for her friend despite her every attempt at being discreet.

Blake rolled over to stare at the ceiling instead. _‘Honestly if I had just told Sun and Neptune the truth when I wrote Sea God’s Plight, I wouldn’t have to continue lying to_ everyone _I know…’_ She thought ruefully.

She had written that book as a wedding gift to the couple. And unlike Weiss, they were _very_ quick to catch onto the fact that the main characters were modeled after them. Needless to say, they were ecstatic to be immortalized in a work of fiction but they had also easily taken notice of her authors bio which she had forgotten to change prior to the books release.

“Seriously Blake, this is like the _coolest_ thing ever!” _Suns smiling face beamed at her as he held up the copy of the book she sent him. Neptune was sitting next to him, arm slung over his shoulder as he too was smiling at the camera._

“Oh yeah, we totally read it in one night by the way. Also, I wholeheartedly agree that the sea is dark and full of terrors.” _Neptune commented with a sly wink causing Blake to smile back at her laptop camera._

_She sat in her office as she shared a video chat with Sun and Neptune. The couple had recently returned from their honeymoon in Vacuo and apparently couldn’t wait to express their gratitude about Blake's delayed wedding gift._

_“I’m glad you two liked it.” She said as she took a sip of her tea._

“Oh we loved it, though there was something that caught my attention Blake...” _Neptune started to say but was quickly interrupted by Sun._

“You mean about how she wrote me as an _awesome_ surfer dude but you won’t _actually_ let me surf in real life?” _The fake pout he shot his husband was comical, causing Blake to huff a laugh as Neptune just rolled his eyes._

“No, I was _going_ to say that Blake’s bio mentioned that she had a girlfriend-” _Neptune managed to say just before Sun’s face practically took over her laptop screen._

“ _OH YEAH_! When did that happen?” _Sun loudly asked._ “You could have totally brought them along with you to the wedding, why didn’t you tell us?”

_Blake nearly spat out her tea. “Oh… Um… Well, t-they were busy at the time. I’m sorry, I guess I’d forgotten to tell you two while I was there for the ceremony. Must have… Slipped my mind.” She hastily explained while trying not to visibly panic. How could she forget about that?_

_As she continued to mentally berate herself over her own forgetfulness, Sun sat back away from the camera giving Blake a huff as he crossed his arms._ “Well, you _were_ a bit of a mess because of your condition. So I forgive you, for now. But the next time you’re in town, Neptune and I want to hear _all_ about them! Deal?” _Neptune nodded in agreement as Suns made a show of pointing accusingly at her over the camera._

_“Deal.” Blake swallowed thickly as she offered a weak smile and a nod._

Blake covered her face with both hands as she let out another long groan at remembering that long ago conversation. Was it wrong for her to hope that her friends had conveniently forgotten about that old promise? She wasn’t even sure if her plan to surround herself with people, just to behave herself, wouldn't just backfire on her if she had to act like Yang's girlfriend. Granted she would have to do that regardless during the convention but at least Blake would have other distractions to worry about. The rest of the week however...

_Urgh_ , how she was going to survive pretending to be in a relationship with someone she harbored feelings for, Blake wasn’t sure.

_‘Maybe I should just tell her how I feel about her…’_ Blake found herself blushing furiously the second the thought crossed her mind. _‘No… I can’t do that. I will not risk our friendship over this. I’ll just have to find a way to minimize the amount of time we share alone together. Somehow...’_ She sighed to herself before getting up and off the bed, deciding that she would put it from her mind for now and read until she heard back from Sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BONUS- The Sea God’s Plight** , snip-bit courtesy of TuxedoBird (because it amuses me and this needed to be shared with you all!!) : 
> 
> “What do you mean there’s _nothing to be afraid of?_ ” Kerry flung his arms out towards the ocean. “There’s sharks, jellyfish, those little shelled snail things with stingers that can kill people… There’s _plenty_ to be afraid of.” He crossed his arms stubbornly. “And don’t even get me _started_ on what lurks at the bottom of the ocean.”
> 
> Michael laughed like he always does, unnecessarily loud and full of humor. “Dude, I’m surprised you didn’t say anything about dolphins in that little spiel.”
> 
> Kerry scoffed. Oh how little did his friend actually know. Not that he could blame Michael or anything. He was only mortal, after all.
> 
> “Dolphins are _assholes_ of the sea.”
> 
> Michael just laughed again, this time removing his shirt before plucking his surfboard out of the sand.
> 
> Continuing to sulk on the cement blocks that acted as a barrier between the parking lot and the rest of the beach, Kerry watched as Michael began jogging towards the waves before turning around, a charming smirk as bright as his blonde hair stretched across his face as he shouted, “Can’t say I didn’t try to get you wet!”
> 
> Ignoring the possible double entendre, Kerry cupped both hands to his mouth to shout back, “Did I mention drowning? Don’t drown!”
> 
> He could hear his friend laughing all the way towards the water’s edge.
> 
> \-----
> 
> HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED THAT! I know it’s probably not the _‘resolve'_ you all were hoping for, but unfortunately I like to think that it’s completely in character for Blake to drag her feet. See you all next week. :3


	27. The Fighters Turmoil

Yang perhaps spent too long just standing under the water’s hot spray. She couldn’t help it though as she spent most of that time just feeling like an idiot. A stupid _jealous_ idiot at that.

When Blake had asked if she was interested in meeting her friend, yeah Yang was excited about it… At first. This was her chance to meet someone other than Weiss who was close to the faunus after all! The last thing she expected was that the friend in question would be Blake’s ex-boyfriend.

_‘Uggh I even acted like one of those stupid bi-phobic lesbians for a hot second. Oum I’m such an idiot.’_ She mentally shook her head in disappointment as she thought back to the conversation with Blake.

_“Soooo…Is this the same Sun you mentioned dating once before?” Yang tried her best to look preoccupied examining her fingernails instead of allowing her concern to show._

_When Blake cleared her throat with a nod, her expression matched her tone as she replied with a simple “yes.”_

_“Oh…” It was all that Yang could bring herself to say as she suddenly felt like she was punched in the gut. What did she have that could possibly compete with someone, ex-boyfriend or not, that could make Blake smile so freely? The answer: Absolutely nothing._

_“Yang, I have to warn you, I’m not sure if Sun or his husband are aware of um… Well ‘_ us _’.” The sound of concern in Blake’s voice drew Yang’s attention as her brain fixated on something the writer just said. Sun or his_ husband _... Meaning Sun is_ married _... Which means the chances of Yang getting a haircut is more likely to happen instead of Sun and Blake taking the chance to rekindle any romantic feelings for each other later that evening… Oh for the love of-_

_As Blake continued to speak, Yang suddenly felt like slapping herself. How could she be so_ stupid _! Seriously, if she had a giant flashing neon sign that read IDIOT hanging above her head she would outfit it with an arrow pointing directly at herself._

Yang still felt like slapping herself for her stupidity. Thinking back, she _should have_ remembered the reasoning behind their break up to begin with. But _noooo_ , it didn’t click until _after_ Blake mentioned Sun _and his husband_ that her stupid brain finally caught on.

_‘Get a grip Xiao Long, even if Blake was your actual girlfriend, there is no need to get friggin territorial here. Especially over one of her friends.’_ Yang sighed dejectedly as she finally shut off the water and stepped out of the shower.

As she did her best to quickly dry off and get dressed in a fresh pair of clothes; after all she had hogged the bathroom for long enough, Yang had half expected to walk out to a perturbed looking Blake. What she was greeted by instead was arguably the most heart warming sight Yang had ever seen.

Blake had moved to sit on the loveseat in order to read, however she was still obviously exhausted from the grueling trials from earlier that morning and had passed out instead. The faunus was curled up against one end of the loveseat, taking up as little space as possible with her knees tucked up against her chest. Her book was precariously placed in the space between her knees and chest, barely held opened to the page she was on by one limp hand while her other arm was curled against the back of the loveseat with her head tucked against it like a pillow.

Yang very quietly located her scroll and took a picture before she could become _too_ preoccupied with just staring at the sleeping dark haired beauty. Because admittedly, having mentally pictured Blake in this exact position several times had _nothing_ on the real thing. Plus pictures lasted longer.

“You are too gorgeous for your own good, I hope you know that…” Yang muttered under her breath as she pocketed her scroll. Now she was faced with the dilemma of what to do next. She didn’t want to wake the slumbering faunus, though the thought of carefully picking Blake up to lay her down in her bed was _very_ tempting.

Instead Yang came up with a compromise. She gently took the book Blake was reading, discovering it to be one of the cozy mystery novels with the title reading ‘ _Death by Coffee_ ’ (which Yang tried not to laugh at), and gently set it aside before pulling a blanket off her bed and lightly covering the faunus with it. Once the blanket was gently wrapped around her, which Blake immediately snuggled into, Yang located pen and paper to leave the sleeping woman a quick note before exiting the hotel room.

Not like she _wanted_ to leave Blake behind, even though Yang wasn’t intending to be gone for very long anyway. But if she didn’t leave, Yang was afraid she was going to do something she might regret later. Like risk the chance of being overheard making _another_ sappy comment about how beautiful Blake was just by _existing_ or worse, finally giving into the temptation to kiss the sleeping faunus in between her cat ears which she has been dying to do since their trip to Patch.

Sighing heavily Yang opted to take the stairs rather than wait for the elevator to take her down the measly one level to the ground floor. She told herself that it was to get in some exercise rather than admit it was to burn off her excess nervous energy.

_‘Behaving was a lot easier when Blake and I were alone at dad’s… If he wasn’t around then at least Ruby was there to keep me from doing something stupid.’_ She thought tiredly as she headed for the check in counter where Yang was greeted by the same clerk from when she and Blake had checked in. She asked them for directions to the nearest coffee shop, which thankfully one turned out to be located at the end of the block and thanked them.

Being in the mountains, Haven turned out to be a bit cooler than Vale this time of year as Yang walked out into the brisk late afternoon air. Unfortunately her enjoyment over the perfect weather of Haven couldn’t stop her thoughts from running amuck inside her head. Thoughts involving Blake, as they seem to involve much of these past few weeks, as Yang made her way down the sidewalk.

She liked Blake. Actually it was more appropriate to say that Yang was _in love_ with Blake. She was in love with her rarely heard laughter, the way she would become shy or blush at the littlest of things... And Gods don’t even get her started on her smile… _Especially_ the small all knowing smirks only Blake could seem to pull off. More importantly Yang was in love with the things Blake _didn’t_ do.

As Yang came to an intersection with the coffee shop in sight just beyond, her mind wandered back to her incident back in Patch as she waited for the crosswalk light to change. When Blake witnessed her in the midst of an episode, Yang was worried that she would run for the hills afterwards and want nothing more to do with her. But she didn’t. She stayed and even got Yang to open up about that day without pushing or demanding for an explanation. Something that even Pyrrha hadn’t been able to accomplish as she had to practically beg Yang to open up about her inner turmoil at the time. Furthermore, Blake had listened to her without judgment or thinking her weak.

No, what she got instead was nothing but support. Okay, Yang had to admit that when Blake had expressed anger when she heard about what Adam did, she found it adorable in a comforting sort of way. That was something not even Lizzy had expressed a single iota of concern about when everything had went to shit.

Yang felt herself bristle at the thought of her ex just as the walk signal came to life. And to think, if things had gone her way that night, had she won that fight and _not_ lost her arm, she had intended to ask Lizzy to marry her.

_‘Perhaps it’s for the best that things turned out differently.’_ Yang thought with a heavy sigh as she walked into the cafe and allowed the familiar scent of coffee to wash over her like a soothing balm. As she stared up at the selection of teas available, Yang couldn’t help herself from smiling as any further thoughts of her ex were expunged from her mind.

Instead her thoughts made a complete full circle, landing back on Blake as Yang glanced over the various teas advertised in favor for what was listed under the cafe’s small selection of loose leaf tea. Yang couldn’t help but mentally shake her head at herself as her smile widened to near cheshire cat levels. _‘Yup, if knowing exactly how Blake likes her tea_ isn’t _a sign of how smitten I am about her, then I don’t know what is…’_ She thought amusedly as she stood in the relatively short line, already knowing what she was going to order for both herself and Blake.

Now if only she could gather the courage to actually _do something_ about these feelings she had for the dark haired woman…

She tried not to laugh at herself. Truly the fact that she hadn’t said anything regarding her feelings directly to Blake yet is a sure sign of how much Yang had grown as an individual. Once upon a time she wouldn’t have hesitated to just stroll up to a pretty girl at random and say “Hey I think you’re cute and we should totally go on a date sometime. Interested?” with perhaps a wink and a flirty smile and be perfectly okay with what happened next. Well, she guessed that largely changed after Lizzy broke up with her, still groggy from surgery and not even fully conscious of the fact that she had one less body part.

Yang tried not to bite her lip as her thoughts suddenly turned sour like curdled milk. Her ex’s parting words still rang painfully through Yang’s mind each time she thought of that day. Words of _“you’re weak. You can’t do anything, let alone help yourself with only one arm. You’re a nobody now. Broken and soon to be forgotten...”_ For a long time Yang thought that those last few words were true, despite the tremendous amount of support and reassuring words both Pyrrha and Ruby would try to counter argue with on the subject. But Blake though...

Blake had admitted that Yang made her feel safe. And she _meant_ it.

Maybe that’s why she was so hesitant on just telling the faunus about her feelings. Yang was _afraid_. Afraid of losing that feeling of having someone rely on her again. Of depending on her. That she _wasn’t_ useless, and here was irrefutable proof that someone _needed_ her. That if she admitted her feelings to Blake with even the slightest chance of the faunus not feeling the same way about her, she would somehow lose that.

_‘Wow, when was the last time I was_ this _afraid about anything?’_ By the time it was Yang’s turn to order, she still couldn’t come up with an answer to her own question.

\---

Blake was awake by the time Yang had returned back to the hotel room. Arms filled with their beverages including several pastries because she couldn’t decide between her usual cherry strudel or the pistachio muffin simply because it was green. Though judging by Blake’s sleepy expression, she hadn’t been up for long.

“Hey sleepyhead, did I wake you?” Yang couldn’t help her smile as she gently kicked the door closed behind her before depositing her bounty on the small coffee table. Blake still had the blanket draped across her lap as she tiredly rubbed at her eyes.

“I’m not sure… How long was I out?” Oh yeah, judging by Blake’s sleep rough voice Yang had totally woken her up during her struggle of trying to figure out just how she was going to be able to swipe the hotel keycard _and_ open the door one handed. Which may or may not have included the use of a few choice expletives. Very _loud_ expletives…

“Well, you were passed out when I got out of the shower and decided that we needed some tasty beverages. So maybe an hour and some change?” Of course at the mention of ‘beverages’ Yang saw Blake’s ears perk up as she finally took notice of the drink that was being handed to her. It was adorable.

“Oh, I knew the hotel had a cafeteria but I didn’t think it had a cafe as well.”

As Blake gingerly took the offered drink Yang couldn’t help her affectionate smile. “It doesn’t. Well actually, I was told they do have coffee and whatnot down there. But I had a craving for _real_ coffee. So I got directions to a cafe that’s down the block and picked us up some much needed caffeine. I got you jasmine pearl green tea by the way. I know you like having something similar in the afternoon and it’s what they had available. Hope it’s okay.”

Judging by the delighted smile Yang received just then, it was more than okay. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

Yang couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. “Oh no, you’ve been without tea for the same amount of time as I’ve been without coffee. If you think I would drink _any_ caffeinated beverage in front of you while denying you your leaf juice, then I hate to break it to you Belladonna, but I’m not stupid enough to incur your wrath.” And just for good measure she gave the faunus a wink which earned her a bashful expression from Blake as she tried to hide that adorable knowing smile behind the rim of her coffee cup.

Yeah… Yang was a _total sucker_ for this woman.

Clearing her throat took more effort than she thought as Yang raked her brain for a change of topic. Spotting Blake’s book from earlier gave her the perfect subject. “So, have you heard or talked to Weiss yet? You know, let her know we made it to Haven in one piece.”

Blake hummed at that. “No, though I should go ahead and get that over with before she decides to call us instead. I should also see if Sun replied regarding when he would like to have dinner.” She finished with a sigh, seemingly tired looking all over again regardless of having just woken up from a nap.

“Well if you want, I can call Weiss. That way I can _finally_ figure out why she hooked us up with two beds.” Yang was already standing to make her way to the balcony just as Blake started to blush. Seriously she was so easy to tease it was ridiculous.

“Yang…” Was all she said, causing Yang to chuckle at how the writer’s tone was telling the blonde to behave but her cat ears were signaling how embarrassed she was over the topic.

“Blake…” She replied back, a smile playing mischievously on her lips before Yang decided that the writer could use some piece of mind. “I promise to behave, but just so you know I’m only asking her to upkeep appearances okay? Pretending to be the _miffed girlfriend_ and all that.” She turned with an eye roll. With one hand on the door handle Yang had another thought and turned back around, pointing at the faunus as she did so. “Also, if it’s any consolation Blake, if Weiss _had_ booked us a room with only one bed, I would’ve been perfectly okay with sleeping on the floor. Just so you know.” She gave the faunus one last wink as she made her way out to the balcony, closing the sliding glass door behind her just as she caught sight of Blake’s blush returning.

The balcony was a small area, too small for any furniture but Yang didn’t mind as she rested her elbows on the intricate wrought iron railing. She quickly pulled up Weiss’s number and pressed the call button without hesitation, already smiling as Weiss picked up on the first ring.

_“Hello Yang, I trust everything is alright?”_

“Well that depends, why’d you hook Blake and I up with two beds and not just one?” Trying to sound slightly annoyed was difficult as Yang could practically _feel_ the other woman roll her eyes at her through the scrolls receiver.

_“Really?_ That’s _what you decided to call me about?”_ She heard Weiss make a sound of dissatisfaction. Teasing her was nearly as fun as teasing Blake. Though Yang guessed that she really shouldn’t be teasing the publisher, fun or not. After all, poking a bear might be fun, that is until it turns around and bites you.

“Well yeah, call it curiosity at this point. Though to answer your question, yes, _other_ than being provided two beds that I can’t even squish together because the frames are bolted to the floor, everything else is peachy keen.”

Hearing Weiss make another annoyed sound on the other line caused Yang to bite back a laugh. _“Seriously Yang, your lack of professionalism is_ astounding _…”_ Weiss muttered, very clearly annoyed before sounding like she took a deep breath to calm herself as she sounded much more composed when she spoke next. _“I booked a room with two beds because I didn’t send you and Blake on some honeymoon adventure. I sent you both to Haven in regards to_ work _. So therefore it was only natural to book a room with two beds. Besides it was cheaper.”_ Weiss finished with the most pompous ‘ _hmph_ ’ Yang had ever heard from the other woman.

“Wow, you could have led with the whole ‘ _it was cheaper_ ’ spiel Weiss, I was only kidding.” Yang finally allowed herself to laugh openly into her scroll.

_“Urgh, how Blake tolerates you I’ll never understand.”_ Again, Yang could practically feel Weiss roll her eyes at her as she made a disgruntled sound. _“Speaking of Blake, how is she doing?”_

That got Yang to sober up as she hummed, looking over her shoulder as she did so. She was able to look into the hotel room through the sliding glass door and easily spotted Blake sitting at the foot of her bed with scroll in hand.

“Not gonna lie, when we landed it was a bit hard on her, but she’s doing better now. Though that could be a combination of the power nap she just woke up from and the tea I bought her.” She finished with a fond smile.

_“I’m glad to hear that. Now I know that the convention starts tomorrow, so you two will have the rest of today to yourselves. Although when you get the chance could you let Blake know I’ll be sending her an email regarding what we discussed during our last meeting?”_

Last meeting? Wasn’t that when Blake turned in her manuscript? Yang couldn’t really remember. “ _Uuuuh_ … Sure?”

_“Don’t tell me she didn’t tell you about the meeting we had…”_ There was a bit of disbelief in Weiss’s tone.

Yang couldn’t help but shrug, even if Weiss couldn’t see it. “What can I say? I _knew_ she had a meeting with you some time ago, but Blake’s been a bit stressed out about the whole convention and panel shindig. So I wouldn’t be surprised if it just slipped her mind. It’s no biggie Weiss.”

_“I… Suppose that is a fair point.”_ There was a long sigh on the other line before Weiss spoke again. _“Anyway, I appreciate the update Yang, but I have some other business to attend to, so I’ll have to let you go. Tell Blake ‘_ hello _’ for me please.”_

“Will do! Catch you later Weiss!” And with that Yang disconnected the call and pocketed her scroll. Rather than immediately go back inside though Yang leaned her back against the railing, elbows propped behind her as she took a moment to just admire Blake for a moment. She was back to sitting on the loveseat, her back facing Yang. Presumably she was back to reading her book as Yang saw no sign of her laptop and her scroll was visibly laying on the coffee table next to her tea.

_‘I wonder if she’s wearing her glasses.’_ She mused as she felt herself smiling. Just as she was contemplating standing there to watch Blake for a bit longer she noticed that one of Blake’s cat ears flickered in her direction, causing Yang’s smile to widen. Ah, of course. Blake could very well hear Yang’s phone conversation, or the lack thereof at this point, and most likely could tell that their call had ended. Looks like her not so subtle admiration of Blake would have to wait.

To be fair, Yang was fairly certain she would be met with plenty of opportunities during the rest of the week to just stare at the woman. Even if all it did was slowly torture her.

_‘Yup. Total glutton for punishment, right here…’_ Yang thought with a sigh as she finally pushed off from the railing and retreated back inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And you all thought the last chapter was frustrating. HA! How adorable... Don't worry we only have *MESSAGE CORRUPTED* chapters to go until they figure it out. 
> 
> This chapter was originally a 9k+ word monster that I had to cut down for the sake of both mine and TuxedoBirds sanity... Seriously I don’t know how it turned out to be that long, it just _did_. <(x_x<;) Now to trim/tweak the rest of it for next week's chapter...
> 
> Sea you all then!
> 
> P.S.- If you like pistachios, then I recommend trying pistachio muffins. But if you don’t like pistachios, (or if you just don’t like the muffins, you heathen) THEN GIB 2 ME, I EATS DIM! *nom nom nom*


	28. The Seamonkeys of Haven

After catching Blake up to speed with her conversation with Weiss, Yang hadn’t meant to sleep the day away. It just sorta happened. One moment she was laying on the bed playing some silly game app on her scroll, and the next thing she knew she was gently being shaken awake by Blake. The only indication Yang had regarding the amount of time that passed was the light outside the hotel room was visibly darker than what she remembered.

At first, Yang was a bit angry at herself because now it meant that she wouldn’t be able to sleep later that night. But as she let out yet _another_ jaw cracking yawn in the hotel lobby, she suspected that it might not actually be as big a problem as she thought. _‘Damn I forgot how much jet lag sucks…’_ She thought as she sat with Blake in one of the oversized lounge chairs in a quiet corner of the lobby area while they awaited Sun’s arrival.

“Are you sure you’re up for having dinner? You still look really tired Yang.” Blake's concerned voice sounded not for the first time next to her.

Even jet lagged and perhaps a bit sleep deprived, Yang admittedly thought that Blake looked rather cute dressed in a black long body tee that hung off one shoulder with a pair of dark colored jeans. Though if she was being completely honest, Blake looked cute no matter what she wore, including those baggy sweats that she loved to lounge around in. _‘The only thing that would make it even cuter would be if she wore one of my shirts instead… Okay yeah, Sleep Deprived Yang needs to_ shut up _before the brain to mouth filter decides to malfunction.’_ She thought as she waved off Blake’s adorably concerned expression. “I’m good.”

Of course Blake gave her a skeptical look. The same one she gave her back in the hotel room when she had finally roused Yang from her power nap. Yang couldn’t help but laugh lightly.

“I’m fine, seriously Blakey. It’s just been forever since I’ve had the displeasure of jet lag. It’s no biggie, I can handle it.” When Blake’s expression didn’t change Yang decided to switch topics. Not before she pointedly gave Blake an exaggerated eye roll. Because seriously, compared to the time she flew to Vacuo for her first title fight, this was nothing. Though that could have been her not only being jet lagged but also partially hung over at the time.

Oh who was she kidding. She was so messed up she ended up worshiping the Porcelain God up until the point she had to leave for the arena the day after she landed. Worst. Experience. _Ever_! It was the first _and last time_ Yang ever drank on a plane.

“Blake seriously, why don’t you just tell me more about your nerdy friends? Perhaps an embarrassing fact or two about them, hmm?” She watched as one of Blake’s ears flicked, not in a way to catch sound but in some new emotion Yang hadn’t quite discerned yet. It only caused Yang’s smile to widen as she propped her elbow on the armrest, resting her chin in her palm as she did her best to look _very_ interested in the other woman’s answer.

Lilac stared into gold in a silent battle of determination before Blake caved first with a heavy sigh. “It was during my second year in college. I met Sun first when he nearly ran into me as he evaded the wrath of the dean during his first day on campus. Later he introduced me to Neptune. They both attended Haven University, but were at Beacon as part of an academic course exchange program. The two of them studied criminology as their majors, I think.”

Yang gave the writer a slow nod before remembering something. “Criminology huh? So in your book Iceflower, Detectives Sunny and Blue…”

Blake nodded with a small smile. “Yes, they are modeled after them. However, my book The Sea God’s Plight is essentially about them and their relationship. Though Neptune still has conflicting feelings about certain characteristics he shares with his character considering he’s _actually_ aquaphobic.”

Once Yang heard that she couldn’t stop herself from snorting a laugh. “Pfft, wait _really_? How does someone with the name like _Neptune_ even become an aquaphobic?” She watched Blake give a thoughtful expression while she did her best to contain herself.

“I… Don’t actually know. I asked him once about it but he only said that it wasn’t that he’s _afraid_ of water, he just has a complete dislike for something that could cause certain death. Or something like that.” Blake tilted her head adorably, her brow still scrunched in thought.

“Could be worse I suppose.” Yang started to say once she calmed down a little though her smile remained wide. “At least he’s not afraid of clowns, or say... Chickens. _OH_! Or that phobia of long words that is like, the _longest_ , most _obnoxious_ thing on the planet to pronounce!”

“I’m so glad you find phobias amusing…” Blake commented dryly, causing Yang to wince slightly when she noticed how her ears were just barely tilted back. Yang realized a little too late that what she thought was a harmless joke perhaps wouldn’t be taken as such by someone with an _actual_ phobia. Oops...

_‘Smooth move numb nuts.’_ She thought as she ran a rand through her bangs as Yang fixed Blake with an apologetic look. “That’s not- Sorry. I didn’t mean it like that Blake. It’s just that, you have to admit that some of the phobias out there make you wonder just _how_ they became a phobia in the first place.”

When Blake’s only response was to stare blankly at her Yang straightened in her seat as she thought of a better way to explain herself. “I’m just saying that I think there are rational things to be afraid of, and then there are silly things that people shouldn’t be afraid of but are. Your phobia for instance, I find that a rational fear. _Thalassophobia_ , the fear of deep sea and all of its hidden surprises, again, I find that rational. But phobias like _mastrophobia_? The fear of _boobs_? Um I’m sorry... _How_?”

The disbelieving look Blake shot her then almost sent Yang into a fit of giggles. Almost… “I’m serious, there’s an _actual_ phobia for that! Moogle it if you don’t believe me.”

Blake had opened her mouth as if to respond but unfortunately whatever she was going to say was interrupted by the sound of her scroll going off with a text notification. “They’re here…” Blake, though her tone was conversational, her ears betrayed her nervousness when they drooped slightly as she stood.

Standing in response, Yang did her best to offer her a reassuring smile. “Whelp, time to meet the boys. It’ll be fine Blake, they’re your friends after all. What’s the worst that could happen?” She said as she offered her hand out for the faunus to take.

The dark haired woman gave a deep sigh before gingerly taking hold of the offered hand. “Yeah, you’re right…” With a light squeeze Yang watched her take in a deep breath before giving her a determined looking nod as she then led the blonde outside.

\---

_‘This was a bad idea…’_ Blake thought not for the first time that evening as she led Yang out of the hotel lobby. Once outside she quickly spotted Sun’s platinum blonde head as he waved frantically at her from the passenger seat of his beat up wagon that was parked in the hotel drop-off area.

As she offered a small wave of her own, Blake felt like throwing up. Her nerves were a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, and had been wreaking havoc with her insides ever since she confirmed dinner plans with her friends. A feeling that intensified near tenfold just as Sun jumped out of the car and launched himself at her, enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.

“BLAKE! It’s been _forever_! Holy Oum you haven’t changed a bit!” He practically yelled as he lifted her off her feet, spinning her around once before she frantically slapped him on the shoulder to let her down. On any normal day his enthusiasm would be contagious or even welcomed, but right now it was nearly too much for Blake’s stomach to handle. For his part, Sun gave her a sheepish expression as he set her down promptly before his blue eyes went impossibly wide as he spotted something, or more accurately someone, behind her.

“Holy sh- Blake! _That’s_ \- When you said you were wanting to bring a plus one, you didn’t say it would be your _girlfriend_! This night just got even _BETTER_! Neptune!! Get out here!”

Suddenly Neptune’s blue hair appeared out from the drivers side window. “Yeah, how about you all just get in the car instead so we can go? We’re _kinda_ parked here illegally now…”

Still reeling from Sun’s over enthusiastic greeting, Blake suddenly felt like her stomach dropped. She knew her earlier hope of just spending a simple night with _friends_ was too much to ask for as she felt Yang’s presence suddenly next to her.

“You doing alright there Blake?” Her voice was filled with concern as she rested a hand on the writer's shoulder.

Blake could only offer a shaky nod in response just as Sun’s voice could be heard, apparently heeding his husbands words and had darted back towards the car. “Ladies, your chariot awaits!” He even made a show of holding open the back door with an over exaggerated bow.

It didn’t take long for everyone to pile back into the car. Especially once Blake noticed the annoyed look the valet was giving them for being parked in the drop-off zone for perhaps longer than strictly necessary. Introductions quickly took place as Neptune started to drive towards their destination which was instantly followed up by Sun twisting himself in the passenger seat to face the two women.

“You know, even though I have proof sitting right in front of me, I still can’t believe that my shy, book nerdy friend here, is _actually_ dating a celebrity! Seriously, way to go Blake!” Blake caught sight of Sun’s monkey tail flickering with excitement as he held up his hand with the intention of receiving a high five from said ‘book nerdy’ friend. Blake ignored it in favor of burying her face in her palm instead.

“Sun… Yang is sitting right here…” A fact that even she was painfully aware of as Yang had insisted that Blake sit in the middle when they had gotten into the car.

“And she can be directly addressed even.” Yang added with amusement clear in her voice as she slung her left arm along the back seat behind Blake.

“I know and it’s awesome!” Sun’s smile only grew wider. “Soooo, how’d you two meet?” Blake thought Sun’s expression was that of an excited kid in a candy store as he purposely directed his question towards Yang this time.

Yang of course hummed thoughtfully as she gave Blake a look that had her blushing within a heartbeat. It was a mixture of affection and adoration that she couldn’t help but look away from as she nudged the blonde with her shoulder in silent agreement for her to continue.

“Wellll, you know it’s a bit cliche really. I walked into a cafe one day and see a pretty girl getting harassed, so I decided to intervene. Afterwards I managed to charm her just enough to score her number and fell in love with her. Book-nerdiness and all.” Yang finished with a shrug that somehow had Blake blushing even further.

She didn’t know what had her blushing more. The fact that Yang _wasn’t_ necessarily lying about their first meeting, or that Yang had spoken of the encounter with such genuine fondness. _‘This was a bad idea…’_ Blake thought again just as Sun launched into his next question with boyish enthusiasm.

It only took about fifteen minutes for the group to reach their destination. Within that time Sun had managed to ask an _absurd_ amount questions with zero sense of shame. Such as who kissed who first, what did they do during their first date, and other questions that left Blake half tempted to throw herself out of the vehicle. Or perhaps just Sun. Actually no, just throwing her friend out of a moving vehicle wouldn’t have been enough. She wanted to strangle him with his own monkey tail first, THEN toss him out of the vehicle. Unfortunately Blake was never provided with the chance to do either as they drove up to a moderately sized strip mall that housed several businesses before parking down at one end.

Now, when Sun previously mentioned knowing the _‘chilliest place to eat’_ Blake shouldn't have been surprised by how small the place actually was. On the outside the establishment didn’t look like much and other than its name, The Purple Tiger, being artfully hand painted on the singular large pane window next to the door, there was no other indication of what the establishment was or might be.

That of course changed the moment one crossed the threshold.

The interior was just as small as the outside led it to believe as the dining area only housed about six booths in addition to the small counter next to the entranceway. The chime above the door was hardly needed as the group was instantly greeted by the hostess, a friendly older woman wearing traditional Mistral attire, the moment they stepped inside and ushered them into a booth.

With practiced ease that proved that this was not their first time here, Sun and Neptune wordlessly slid into the bench seat on one side, while Yang and Blake sat opposite of them. Yang had offered Blake to sit first, allowing her to take the seat closer to the wall as the group were handed menus and had their drink orders taken.

Blake had to admit that the place had a quaint atmosphere to it that she found charming. With its traditional Mistral style decor down to the various knickknacks and paintings that lined the walls, it was aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The best part however, or at least in Blake’s opinion, was that they were currently the only patrons within the restaurant. It certainly helped her nerves at least.

“See what did I say! Neptune and I know all the best places.” Sun commented proudly.

Neptune nodded along as he flashed one of his charming smiles. “The restaurant itself is hardly ever busy, and if it is it’s usually only during lunch time. It doesn't hurt that they also deliver which is how Sun and I became familiar with this place during our college days.” He finished with a shrug.

“Oh yeah? Blake mentioned that you all met when you two attended Beacon for awhile. Criminology right?” Yang commented casually as she rested her right arm along the back of the booth just behind Blake. Unfortunately the gesture caused Blake to become torn between what action to take.

It was truly a difficult decision.

Even with the few inches that separated them Blake could smell the hotel shampoo wafting from Yang’s loose hanging hair mixing pleasantly with her natural scent that positively called out to the faunus to snuggle up into. Or, she could just sit where she was and hold onto her complimentary water with both hands as if it were the single remaining lifeline she had tethering her to her sanity.

To behave or not to behave, that is the question….

In the midst of determining what to do, Blake failed to realize that all eyes were on her until she felt Yang tapped her on the shoulder. “Oh, sorry what did I miss?” She quickly said as she took a sip of her water and looked around the table. Both Neptune and Yang were smiling at her, or chuckling in Yang’s case, while Sun was giving her a dubious look.

“Do you know what you want to eat babe? It’s your turn to order.” At Yang’s words Blake then took note of the hostess’s return who had a patient looking smile on her features.

Crap, she had completely forgotten to even look at the menu the entire time she had been sitting there. Quickly picking up the menu Blake pointed to the first thing her eyes landed on as she offered the hostess an apologetic smile. “I’ll have this please.”

When she repeated back her randomly selected food choice, (which thankfully turned out to be yellow curry with shrimp) the hostess ensured them that their orders will be out in a bit while gathering the menus before leaving the group alone once more.

The conversation unfortunately, had picked back up immediately at her departure as Yang shot Blake a wide smile. “While you were busy daydreaming of the prospects of seafood, Sun was just telling me embarrassing stories about you in college.” That got Blake’s attention as she felt her ears perk up.

“What?”

Yang chuckled. “Oh yeah. How come you’ve never told me about how you once were so sleep deprived from finals that you thought there was a _demon spider_ that whispered things in the hallway of your dormitory?”

Blake wanted to groan in frustration. She had forgotten about that incident honestly, mostly because of the level of sleep deprivation she was experiencing at the time and because it was just flat out embarrassing. Seriously, who would want to admit that they were _hearing voices_ coming from a mirror in the middle of the night, and it turned out to be a spider? _No one_. That’s the answer. Regardless Blake glared at the blonde sitting across from her with flattened ears that caused the blonde next to her to further giggle at her expense.

With a smug smile the monkey faunus only shrugged off her look before turning his blue gaze to Yang. “What about you Yang? I bet you have all kinds of wild and exciting college stories.” He asked as he rested his elbows on the table as he dexterously used his tail to bring his soda closer to sip from the straw.

Blake felt more than saw Yang shrug while she continued to halfheartedly glare at her friend. “I probably would if I had attended college. But I didn’t.” Blake had to admit, she wasn’t at all shocked to learn that. Unlike Sun and Neptune who both looked at her in disbelief.

“What? I mean, we knew you’re a kickboxer, or at least a former one and all that, but like what was your backup plan if you didn’t make it into the pro league?” Neptune inquired as he mirrored his husbands posture as he placed both of his elbows on the table.

Yang huffed out a laugh just as she gave Neptune a rueful smile. “Honestly at the time I didn’t have a backup plan. I always thought I’d be kicking ass and taking names until I was old enough to retire gracefully from the sport instead of… Well, instead of how things actually turned out. But I guess if I had the chance to attend college, I would’ve taken up automotive work or something. I always enjoyed tinkering on my motorcycle back in high school.”

That got Blake to pause, why did Yang make it sound like she _couldn’t_ go back to college? “Nothing is stopping you from attending college now Yang…” She found herself blurting out before she could stop herself. Realizing her slip up it took every ounce of willpower for Blake to keep her gaze focused on Yang. _‘Stupid… How can you be so stupid?’_ She thought fearfully as she saw in her peripheral vision Sun and Neptune share a look before staring at her. Great, just great. The last thing Blake wanted was to give away any inkling suspicion that would give away her fake dating ruse with Yang.

As she continued to do her best to keep her features neutral, Yang gave her a slow smile. “Blake, babe not this argument again…” Her tone was chiding with an undertone of affection that left Blake momentarily relieved at the efficiency Yang played off her blunder.

Thankfully any further comments on the matter were interrupted by the arrival of their meals in which Blake sent a silent thank you to whichever God that was currently gracing her with such fortunate timing. Sun however was not deterred by the arrival of food, as he would occasionally ask another question or regaled everyone with a story from his youth. Often with his mouth half full of his spicy pad thai as everyone else tucked into their meals quietly.

Blake however couldn’t help but feel on edge every time another question passed his lips. Now, it may have been just her paranoia thinking this, but it felt like each time Sun asked a question he would then peer at either of the two women as if he was trying to gauge their reaction. It was unnerving if not out right concerning. It nearly resembled how Pyrrha would occasionally stare in Blake’s direction whenever she thought the faunus wasn’t looking. So much so that Blake was hardly able to stomach her meal. A shame really as the shrimp was actually quite good.

Yang pushed aside her now empty plate once there was a lull in the conversation. “Hey, does this place have a restroom?”

At that Neptune perked up. “Oh yeah, I’ll show you since I have to use the little boys room myself.” He said as he scooted out of the booth and stood with Yang quickly following suit. “By the way, you’ll have to tell me what the interior of the ladies room looks like! Since you know, I can’t go in there myself and all that. I just really want to know if it’s decorated the same as the men's bathroom…” As Neptune continued to describe the decor of the men's room, Blake was prevented from further eavesdropping by Sun who was suddenly leaning across the table and fixing her with a serious expression.

It was an expression he rarely wore and it caused Blake’s cat ears to fold back instantly as she stared back at him with her own confused expression. “W-what?”

“Blake,” he started in a tone that matched the seriousness in his blue eyes, “you know you can tell Neptune and I anything right?”

Picking up her fork Blake idly poked at her now cold food for no other reason than it gave her something to distract herself with. “I am aware of that, why do you ask?”

She caught sight of Sun’s tail flicking once. Twice... “Then why didn’t you tell us that you and Yang aren't actually dating?”

She let the fork slip from her grasp to clatter almost too loudly back onto her plate as she flinched. “H-how-”

Sun offered her a sympathetic look. “Blake please, you forget that I wanted to be a detective since I was like, _four_. Not to mention it’s kinda what I do for a living these days. Plus you can’t forget that you and I dated once, even if it was only for a couple of months so I know your tells.”

Blake felt like throwing up all of a sudden as her anxiety flared. She wanted to find the biggest, darkest hole and throw herself into it. Actually, seeing as she was in Haven, she would probably have better luck finding the tallest cliff and hurling herself off of that instead. This was _not_ how the night was suppose to go. With her panic no doubt being abundantly transparent to the other faunus, Sun was quick to reach across the table and take hold of her hands.

The roughness of his palms were a distant sensation of familiarity against her smooth skin as he gently rubbed her knuckles as he spoke calmly. “Look Blake, I don’t care about why you and Yang are pretending to be an item. Am I curious about it? Well _duh_. Am I a little hurt about being lied to, _yeah_ , a bit. But I’m a big boy and I can get over it because I’m sure you have your reasons. And what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t come out and tell you that you should _totally_ get on that? I mean, it shouldn’t be too hard considering she’s like, totally into you but _damn_ Blake... Seriously put a ring on that or something before someone else snatches her up!” He finished with his trademark smirk causing Blake to blush lightly.

Quickly looking over her shoulder to ensure that the other half of their party wouldn’t be returning anytime soon she then fixed her friend with a disbelieving look. “Sun, don’t be ridiculous I don’t… Look, the situation is beyond complicated and it’s _all_ my fault. Besides Yang and I are _just_ friends. She isn’t-”

Sun interrupted her with a gentle squeeze to her hands. “She _is_ and I bet you anyone can see it just as easily as I can while _blindfolded_. Seriously I’m not just making this up!” He offered her another smile as he withdrew his hands from hers. “Besides I can tell that you’re into her too. And this amazing person once told me that the only way to know for sure if someone feels the same about you is to _talk_ to them. Because what’s life without a little living?”

He didn’t just… Oh that was so _unfair_.

Those were the _exact_ words Blake had told Sun back when he spent the better part of a month worrying himself sick about how Neptune would react to his feelings before he finally confessed. Blake was half tempted to be angry at having her own words used against her but Sun gave her another smile as he sat back against the booth. “Just talk to her Blake, you’ll see that I’m right. Like always.” He finished with a wink as his blue gaze focused behind her. Tilting her own faunus ears back she caught the sound of their companions making their way back from the restrooms. Time was up.

“Oh my Oum Blake, check out these pictures I took of the bathroom! How cool is this?” Blake forced a smile onto her features as Yang quickly slid into the booth full of excitement as she held out her scroll so the writer could peer at said pictures.

Dinner from there passed in a blur of sorts. Or more accurately a haze as Blake vaguely remembered asking for a box for her leftovers along with engaging in a half hearted argument with Sun over the bill. That is until Yang somehow managed to pluck it out of Sun’s raised arm, his way of keeping it out of Blake’s reach, and wordlessly walked up to the register and paid for dinner before anyone could offer protest.

After leaving the restaurant, the air outside was noticeably colder. Having not thought to bring a jacket Blake had wrapped her arms around herself until Yang took off her flannel shirt and draped it over her. She tried to protest, as the offering left Yang only in her orange tank top but she wouldn’t have any of it. She just laughed off Blake’s protests with a comment of “you know I’m too hot anyway” and a flirty wink before holding the car door open for Blake.

As she climbed into the backseat Blake noticed Sun’s playful smile in the rear view mirror staring back at her as he mouthed the words _‘talk to her’_ , causing her to blush. During the car ride back to the hotel, engulfed in both Yang’s scent and warmth, as the former fighter had also wrapped an arm around Blake to further keep her warm, the writer couldn’t help but replay Sun’s pep talk over and over in her head. Even if it was really just her own advice being used against her, that didn’t make the words any less true.

What’s more is that Blake hated how Sun was right, she really did need to talk to Yang. Now she just had to find the time to actually do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact for those that don’t know, the fear of long words is _Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia_ , (try saying that three times fast!) and it is legitimately the _longest phobia name to say_ , and whoever came up with that name is pure chaotic evil and you can’t convince me otherwise! 
> 
> Another fun fact is that yours truly is a Kinemortophobic. Yup...I’m afraid of zombies! Hey don’t give me that look! At least I’m not TuxedoBird, they’re the Thalassophobic, the big weeny!!
> 
> ANYWAY Thank you Maldevinine for giving me the idea of wingman Sun! I know this wasn’t very wingman- _ish_ but hey! Sometimes your friends just need a push (or a rough shove) in the right direction! d(-_^d)


	29. The Writers Convention

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to fly by the seat of my pants y’all! Please note that I’ve been to countless comic-cons, a handful of game-cons and one art convention. But never have I ever been to an authors/writers convention. Thankfully there’s this thing called Youtube that has helped expand my knowledge on the matter, but again as I’ve mentioned in the VERY first chapter, I’m just trying to make everything sound believable. So if I get something wrong please forgive any blunders on my part.

“Blake are you sure cosplaying isn’t a thing? Cause I’m pretty sure cosplaying is a thing that happens at _every_ convention…” The disbelief in Yang’s voice caused Blake to not so subtly roll her eyes in the blondes direction. Not like Yang could see it as the blonde was currently still in the bathroom brushing her hair.

“Yang, we’ve been over this, the Author’s Convention is vastly different than comic-con. Yes there will be a vendor hall for people to promote their work, and yes there will be panels regarding various topics for people to attend but that’s as far as the similarities go between the two.” Blake explained smoothy for perhaps the third time that morning.

She and Yang were currently getting ready to leave in order to attend said convention. Though Yang seemed genuinely disappointed that the convention would be more of a business atmosphere rather than a nerd fest like she was hoping. Yang was even more disappointed when Blake had put her foot down regarding her attire.

She knew at least Weiss would have approved if the publisher knew what Yang had intended to wear to the event. Had the blonde had it her way, she would have worn ripped blue jeans paired with a white shirt and that silly leather jacket. Yes, Blake may have enjoyed how Yang had initially looked but unfortunately Blake was not just promoting her work during this event, but also Weiss and her company. So regrettably Blake managed to talk Yang into showing her what little articles of clothing she had brought along to Haven and found something more suitable for the blonde to wear. Even if it meant that Yang was now wearing mostly black.

“Yeah but, I think I look silly…” Yang’s voice sounded from the bathroom.

Blake couldn't help but roll her eyes again from her spot on the loveseat. “ _I_ think you look nice.” She commented honestly as she zipped up the sides of her ankle boots. She herself had opted to keep her attire simple and ended up inadvertently matching her outfit to Yang’s.

_‘Well it’s too late to switch clothes now. Perhaps I should throw on my cardigan?’_ She mused silently as she finished putting on her boots and stood. The more she thought about it the more it sounded like a good idea, seeing as she was suppose to be spending much of her time in the Writers Hall where it might get cold. Plus her cardigan was a deep purple so it would pair well with her black leggings and long blouse.

“Alright… I guess I’m as presentable as I’m ever going to be. When do we have to leave again?” As she slipped her cardigan on, Blake looked up in time to see Yang emerge from the bathroom after having just tamed her wild locks into a neat ponytail and looking slightly unsure of herself. She made a dashing figure as Yang scrunched her face adorably as she finished buttoning the front of her black dress shirt over a yellow shirt worn underneath.The yellow shirt had been intended to match her prosthetic, but the single black glove Yang wore to cover it was non negotiable attire.

Either way the sight caused Blake to smile unbidden, thinking that Yang really did look nice. That is until Sun’s voice reminding her to ‘ _talk to her_ ’ filtered through her thoughts. Noticing that she hadn’t replied to Yang’s question Blake was quick to clear her throat while making a show of checking her scroll. The device brightly displayed that the time was currently 9:16 AM. The expected drive time was about twenty minutes and the convention didn’t officially start until 10:30. They would be early, almost excessively so, but that was their intention to begin with.

“We should make our way down to the lobby, our ride should be here in about five minutes or so.” She said as she mentally set aside Sun’s advice for now. She had more pressing matters to worry about after all; like attending a convention that will be filled with hundreds of people for instance... Taking a deep breath Blake reminded herself of the promise she made to Weiss that she would at least _try_ and make it through the event.

‘Easier said than done.’ Blake thought with a shaky sigh as she and Yang double checked that they had everything before making their way to the elevator. On the bright side, Weiss at least had come up with a back up plan. The email Weiss had sent her yesterday had detailed that Blake and Yang were to meet up with one of her interns who would be assisting them in running the booth for the duration of the convention. And in the event that Blake had to leave, for whatever reason, they would then take over and manage things on their own. The backup plan was supposed to make Blake feel better, but it only made her more determined to not allow her fear to control her.

After all, the last thing Blake wanted to be was a burden on those around her. Especially Yang as the two of them met their ride-share out in the drop-off area outside the hotel.

\---

Getting to the convention center was easy enough. Getting in however was an entirely different matter.

Even though both Blake and Yang were provided special guest passes, they still had to go through security. Which admittedly neither one of them were expecting and it further meant standing in line with all the other vendors and special guests who had also thought to show up early. The end result was that there were far more people than Blake was expecting this early in the morning as she fought against her mounting anxiety.

It was okay at first, or at least it was manageable as Yang was quick to pick up on her discomfort like always. She had Blake tell her about their schedule for the day, including breaks and when they would be taking their lunch just to keep her talking in order to distract herself. It worked right up until the two of them were forced to separate from one another in order to have the security guard run their wand over them. Yang had Blake go first before she herself underwent the same treatment where there was a bit of a hiccup involving her prosthetic setting off the alarm. Thankfully the security guard was not only professionally polite but discreet when inquiring about what Yang wore under her glove.

The few minutes it took for Yang to finally get the all clear however had proven to be just enough time for Blakes’s anxiety to seize her by the throat.

Just as her breathing started to become labored she felt Yang wrap her strong arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight hug. “Easy there, it’s okay. Take a moment to just breathe Blake.” Her voice was quiet but soothing to Blake’s frantic nerves as she buried her face into Yang’s collarbone.

_‘How am I going to manage another three days of this if I can hardly walk twelve feet into the convention?’_ Blake thought sadly as she concentrated on taking in several lungfuls of Yang’s scent. At least she wasn’t crying, because that was the last thing she wanted to do in public.

Several minutes had passed by, which honestly felt like hours to Blake, before she felt Yang gently pull her away. “Hey come on, lets go over here for a bit so we’re not in the way okay?” Yang’s tone was gentle as she guided them off to one side. It regrettably forced Blake to move away from her comforting scent but at least Yang kept a hand pressed reassuringly to her back.

Yang led them just far enough away where they wouldn’t be overheard by others as she walked Blake through a grounding exercise. Having her list off various flowers and their colors planted nearby before moving onto parts of the building itself. With people still filing into the convention area, the exercise proved to be just effective enough for Blake to gain control over anxiety, if only barely. It didn’t stop her from practically clinging to Yang as if she were a life line as they finally ventured inside.

As they descended down an escalator, Blake did her best to be mindful of how hard she gripped Yang’s prosthetic hand after catching sight of the blonde wincing. She remembered being told about the artificial limb still having _some_ sort of sensory control, and regrettably Blake kept forgetting about it during her times of stress. She really wished Yang would just tell her whenever she was holding on too tightly rather than keep quiet, but at least the concentration gave Blake something to focus on as they approached the Writers Hall.

Thankfully the area was still closed off from the rest of the convention goers for another thirty minutes or so as Blake and Yang flashed the lone individual tasked with guarding the doors their guest passes and allowing them entry. As the doors shut behind them the sudden decrease in noise made the hall seem almost eerily quiet. The only sounds within being that of hushed murmurs of conversation while vendors and convention staff alike continued setting up various tables and booths. It was also noticeably colder as Blake wrapped her cardigan just a bit tighter around herself to ward off the sudden chill, grateful for her foresight in wearing the article of clothing.

Next up was locating her booth which admittedly wasn’t hard provided that the hall wasn’t tremendously large to begin with. Plus, with the large overhanging banner reading “Special Guest Authors” located near the back wall matching their ‘special guest’ passes, it wasn’t hard to miss.

“Of course Weiss would set us up in the very back corner like some misbehaving red headed step child… Or blonde.” Yang joked as they caught sight of the booth baring Blake’s name on it. Blake could only make a non committal hum as they walked closer to the booth. Not that she could fault Yang for thinking this was some sort of punishment, but she knew better. True, the placement of the booth could be considered undesirable as it was in the far back corner smooshed between a fire exit and a bathroom, thus making it easily overlooked by anyone not looking to use either. But knowing Weiss it was more than likely selected with the conscious effort to cut back on any crowding that may take place. Never mind that every guest booth had their own roped off sections to keep any and all persons kept in an orderly queue when visiting with their favored authors.

So while Yang decided to see the humorous side of things, Blake only saw Weiss’s careful planning and hard work laid out before her. It reaffirmed her earlier conviction to not allow her fear and anxiety to put all of this effort to waste as she drew in a deep breath.

She could do this... And if Blake reminded herself enough times perhaps she’ll even start to believe it.

“Oh! You’re both here early.” No sooner had they approached the booth, both Blake and Yang were greeted by a perky rabbit faunus with long brunette hair who spoke with an accent. Her face was partially obscured by the ridiculous stack of books she carried before she quickly set them aside on the table in order to thrust out a hand to Blake in greeting with a bright smile. “Ms. Schnee asked that I work as your assistant during the convention this week. I’m Velvet by the way.” As she shook hands with Velvet, Blake felt herself smiling briefly in response to the other faunus’s bright personality.

“It’s nice to meet you Velvet. Blake Belladonna, and this is Yang Xiao Long.” Blake was amazed at the calmness in her tone while she made introductions. Especially since she felt like anything but calm at that moment. It could have been because her anxiety was still lurking dangerously close to the surface, or it could have been Yang casually wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close after the blonde shook hands with the perky intern.

“Nice to meet you! Though you probably already knew who we are huh?” Not even looking at the blonde Blake could hear the smile in her voice as Velvet just gave them both a bashful looking smile.

“Only from what Ms. Schnee has told me.” Velvet said as she turned her attention back to the stack of books she had still sat on the table.

“Need help with anything?” When the other faunus fixed them both with confused blinking brown eyes, it dawned on Blake that she and Yang had spoken at the same time. The incident already had the blonde spiraling into a fit of giggles while Blake couldn’t help her sudden embarrassment as Velvet also joined in with her own, more subdued laughter.

“Wow I heard that couples could sometimes finish each other's sentences, but I’d never thought I’d witnessed something similar.” She said with another light laugh as she wordlessly divided the stack of books into neat piles on the table’s surface. Unaware of the sudden panic spike that coursed through Blake or how Yang’s laughter suddenly turned ever so slightly nervous. Right… _Girlfriend mode_. That was another thing Blake tried not to panic about as she regained her composure by clearing her throat with a light cough.

As it turned out, Velvet did not need help as she was just about done with the booths set up before the two of them had arrived. And by the time the vendor hall opened up, Blake had planted herself squarely behind the book laden table as if it were her single line of defense against the masses. In a way it was, though Yang’s presence next to her was more effective in keeping her grounded while Velvet’s presence proved effective in offering distraction as the three of them shared in conversation.

So much so that Blake never saw the first person approach her booth, their tentative ‘ _hello_ ’ nearly startling her out of her skin. Thankfully Velvet was quick to address the individual and efficiently sought to their needs, which was a book purchase along with a signature by Blake.

As the hours pressed on, the convention didn’t turn out to be as bad as Blake had initially feared. Granted according to Velvet, who has been to several such events, the first day was always the slowest. Regardless, Blake was thankful that the few people to approach her booth were so few and far in between that she was easily able to manage her anxiety. The slowness also appeared to have provided Yang with some piece of mind as the blonde felt comfortable enough to leave Blake alone long enough to hunt down something to drink. That is, something other than the bottles of water Velvet kept under the table.

When she returned nearly twenty minutes later, Yang was armed with several plastic cups containing a colorful display of liquid. “Three drinks?” Velvet sounded confused but still accepted the offered drink when Yang handed one out to her.

“Rule of thumb, always carry an extra. But I figured since you’re helping out I’d spoil you too!” As she handed the other brightly colored drink to Blake, Yang resumed her seat in the chair next to her. “Sorry Blake, they didn’t have any tea or coffee, the _heathens_. So enjoy a strawberry sunrise instead.” She said with a bright smile, wrapping her right arm along the back of the faunus’s chair as she clinked her cup against Blake’s.

Blake couldn’t help but stare down at the brightly colored drink. Giving it a tentative sniff, it smelt fruity, almost disgustingly so. “These are nonalcoholic right?” She’d hoped they were, but she thought it better to ask before committing herself to drink the fruity concoction.

Of course Yang just shot her a smirk with a raised brow. “Do I look like the kind of troublemaker who drinks in the middle of the day?” She paused long enough to take a sip of her own drink before fixing Blake with a serious expression. “On second thought babe, don’t answer that…”

With a roll of her golden eyes, and perhaps a light blush dusting her cheeks, Blake finally took a sip of her drink. It was perhaps a bit too sweet for her particular palate, but it tasted exactly like an early morning sunrise in summer. Though the illusion of warmth Blake felt wasn’t provided by the sheer amount of sugar no doubt contained within the drink, but rather the blonde who sat next to her. Blake felt herself smiling unbidden until the thought of a different blonde crossed her thoughts...

It’s not like she _didn’t_ agree with Sun’s assessment that she and Yang needed to talk. Because they needed to and letting out an internal sigh, she knew the conversation was probably _long_ overdue at this point. Not just about any mutual feelings between them, but Blake was more worried about what she and Yang would do _after_ the awards ceremony in November. If it turns out her feelings were in fact one sided, would she remain friends with Yang afterwards? Or would they go their separate ways and never speak to each other ever again?

That last thought certainly left Blake with a heavy sense of dread in the pit of her stomach. At the very least she really hoped that she and Yang would remain friends.

“Woah, who ordered the camera crew?” Yang’s voice drew the faunus’s attention as she looked up just in time to see three individuals seemingly walking towards her booth with purpose.

They were all human, though the one carrying a boom mic looked like he could’ve been a half giant with how tall he was. As for the other two, Blake couldn’t decide what shocked her more. The cameraman with eyes so white that there was no way he _wasn’t_ blind, or the immaculately dressed woman who not only wore dark shades indoors but strutted towards the booth as if she owned the place.

“Oh my gosh! That’s Coco Adel!” Velvet’s quiet voice sounded in awe of the other woman. The name sounded vaguely familiar to Blake, though the writer wasn’t entirely sure where she had heard that name before.

As Velvet hurriedly stood, the action prompting the rest of them to stand, Yang nearly spat out her drink in the process. “Wait, you mean that’s _the_ Coco Adel!? As in the-”

“As in the world renowned fashion critic Coco Adel. Yes, that would be me.” Velvet was heard letting out a quiet ‘ _eep_ ’ just as Coco cocked her hip against the table as she continued to speak. “And before any of you can ask, yes, I’m here at Haven’s Seventh Annual Writers Convention conducting interviews. Why? Because _apparently_ this is what my higher ups consider punishment and we’ll just leave it at that.”

Ah, that’s why the name sounded familiar. Though Blake was not personally familiar with Coco’s work regarding today’s current or trendy fashion tips, she was at least knowledgeable enough to know that there wasn’t a single Fashion Weekly magazine published without Coco’s name or face plastered on the front page. Although the writer would be lying if she said that she wasn’t curious about what the esteemed fashionista did in order to deserve this quote-unquote, “ _punishment_ ”.

Her curiosity sadly would have to wait as Blake watched Coco purposefully look at Velvet over the rims of her designer shades before giving her a devilish smirk. “Though I have to say, if this was a punishment, you Honey-bun, certainly are a treat.” Even with being unable to see Velvet’s face, Blake was able to see the pinkish hue the rabbit faunus ears turned from the wink she received just then.

Blake shot the other faunus an unseen sympathetic look. Having been on the receiving end of Yang’s flirtatious antics she knew all too well the level of embarrassment that Velvet was currently going through. Though Coco’s flirtation was the real deal. Poor girl.

The moment was interrupted by a bored monotone sounding voice. “Coco rein it in, we have a job to do.” The voice came from the cameraman who’s words prompted Coco to push away from the table with a disappointed face.

“You are _such_ a spoilsport Fox.” She muttered before she turned her attention towards Blake. “Blake Belladonna I assume. Coco Adel, and these are my associates, Fox and Yatsuhashi. A pleasure to meet you.” She said professionally as she held out her hand.

The faunus easily took it and gave her a firm handshake as she wasn't nearly as intimidated by the woman’s presence as her companions. Or perhaps not as intimidated as Velvet seeing as the intern somehow caught Coco’s eye. But Blake would muse over that thought later. “Nice to meet you. So you are conducting interviews?”

“Unfortunately. Now if you don’t mind, could I have the two of you come around the front of the table? That way we could use the booth itself as the backdrop for the interview.” Coco motioned to both Yang and Blake before making several motions to her associates. As they silently went about their set up process, Yang gave Blake a raised eyebrow as the writer hesitantly did as instructed.

Okay so just because Blake wasn’t intimidated by the fashionista didn’t mean she wanted to leave the safety of having a barrier of sorts set between them.

“So I take it you know who I am then?” Yang asked curtly as she also complied with the request.

Coco let out an amused noise. “There isn’t a lesbian on the planet who doesn't know who you are, _Yang Xiao Long_. Though I must admit it took me a second to realize it was you without your boxing gloves on.”

Looking over at Yang, Blake could tell that she was uncomfortable with the sudden attention. Which was strange. Usually when people recognized her she was more chipper about it. Ecstatic even. It took Blake a second too long to realize that it wasn’t the attention that was making the former fighter uncomfortable as she witnessed her lilac eyes dart uncomfortably between Coco and the cameraman. It was the _media_ attention that Yang didn’t want. Oh...

“I’m not answering any questions.” Yang said flatly before Blake had the chance to think up some excuse on her behalf to not be included in the interview. As Yang stood just behind her, the blonde was practically radiating with how much she loathed each passing second, causing Blake to fold her ears back slightly in concern. Why was she going through with this? Why not decline Coco’s request and stand off to the side like she did the last time the media tried to include her in an interview?

She wanted to verbally voice her concern to Yang, however Coco just shot her another one of her wicked looking smiles. Though this one seemed more mischievous rather than flirtatious.

“Good. Because when my boss sees that I got you on camera and _not_ ask you a damn thing, he is going to lose his mind so spectacularly it will send his cheap toupee into outer space!” She gave a good-natured chuckle as she made a motion as if to wipe away a tear. “This ought to teach that _prick_ to never stick me with boring book interviews ever again. No offense to everyone present.”

Yang let out a soft laugh as she wrapped an arm around Blake’s waist. “None taken.” Hearing the amusement in her voice, Blake let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she allowed herself to relax against the blondes torso. Good to know that Yang was perfectly okay with media attention for the sole purpose of pissing off some unknown bigwig who in turn ticked off the wrong interviewer. Blake offered the hand at her waist a small reassuring pat to show her approval. Even if it was petty.

It wasn’t long before Fox was giving Coco a thumbs up, indicating that everything was set up and ready for her to start.

“Thankfully this isn’t going to be a live interview, as it will be spliced together with the others we’ll be doing later on today by our editors. So I’m just gonna ask you a few _disgustingly_ boring questions that I’m sure you’ve answered plenty of times. Ready?” Coco pointedly looked at Blake and waited for her to nod before taking up position slightly to her left, allowing her to be in between her and Yang.

As Fox began to count down with his fingers, Blake did her best to keep her breathing even. All the while telling herself that with Yang at her back, everything will turn out to be fine.

\---

Blake let out a heavy sigh after the last question was answered and Coco’s crew began to tend to their equipment. As thankful as she was to finally be done with the interview, she had a hunch that Yang was even more grateful that it was over as she heard the blonde also let out a heavy exhale. Together, the two of them silently watched as Coco slipped Velvet a piece of paper, winking at her over the rims of her sunglasses before her and her crew departed to move onto their next interview, leaving the poor intern to turn a brilliant shade of red.

“Heh well at least if she shows up again, it’s not to interview us, that’s for sure.” Blake couldn’t help her own soft smile at Yang’s hushed statement as they both amused themselves with Velvet’s current state of befuddlement.

“Agreed.”

The rest of the day was largely uneventful after Coco’s departure. Well that is if one did not count Yang mercilessly teasing Velvet about scoring the one and only Coco Adel’s number. Or the dozen or so more people who approached the booth before they had packed it in for the day.

Granted, Blake admitted that the last person to approach her booth inquiring if she would kindly sign a napkin (of all things) for their sibling had put a smile on her face.

Yang also had a fan encounter at the booth, though it was more of a pleasant surprise for both parties. It was a married couple, the wife being the one familiar with Blake’s work as she dragged her bored looking husband in tow to have a book signed. While in the process of signing said book he spotted Yang sitting next to Blake and became visibly excited as he turned to gush about the former fighters presence to his now confused wife. Seeing as there was no one else in line at the time, Yang had fun chatting with the husband as she signed his shirt and took a few pictures while the wife gave Blake a fond smile, rolling her eyes as she muttered “Men, they never grow up.” They both shared a quiet laugh at that.

Either way, when it came time to leave Blake had exchanged numbers with Velvet so that in case anything came up they would be in contact before she and Yang caught a taxi back to their hotel.

Walking past the threshold to their room Blake felt absolutely drained, physically more so than mentally. While handling people sporadically coming up for books or autographs proved much easier than a seemingly never ending line of bodies, she had still felt her anxiety flare whenever large groups of people walked past the booth. The simple question of whether a person was approaching her booth or not proved taxing after the first hour or so. Additionally Blake thought that her physical exhaustion was caused from having confined herself soloy to the little corner her booth laid claim to. Trips to the bathroom notwithstanding, Blake had hardly ventured beyond the table except for the odd picture request and Coco’s interview.

No sooner had they walked into the room, Blake couldn’t stop her amused smile as she watched Yang purposely walked right up to her bed and face planted into the mattress. She said something as well but it was too muffled by the beds fluffy comforter for Blake to decipher.

“I didn’t quite catch that, you’ll have to speak up.”

Yang rolled over just enough to say “I said, pretending to be your girlfriend is fun and all but I’m leaving you for the bed.” She finished with an amused laugh just as Blake felt her ears pull back as she face palmed.

“You’re-”

“I know, I know _… ‘I’m insufferable'_ and all that. Jeez Blake I’m starting to think that word doesn't mean what you think it means.” Yang fully rolled onto her back to make half-hearted air quotations as she let out another light laugh at Blake’s expression.

“If you’d like I could tell you the definition of insufferable _just_ so you are fully aware of its meaning, Yang.” Blake huffed as she walked over to where her suitcase was stored to pull out a pair of sweatpants and a shirt to change into.

Of course Yang just barked out a laugh as she sat up. “Ha! I don’t have to be a writer to know what words mean Blake. You don’t have to be a nerd about it.” She jested as she bounced off the bed. “Your nerdiness aside however, I don’t know about you but I’m starving. I’m going to head down to the cafeteria and see what food I can smuggle back up here. Interested?”

Like that was even a question. “Please.” Blake replied gratefully. The convention had provided an interesting and wide variety of drinks to all it’s attendants, but when it came to _actual_ food, it lacked a great deal in things Blake was willing to eat. Especially for the price that they were marked at.

“You got it! Other than tea, was there anything in particular you’d like me to snag for you?” Yang inquired as she paused by the front door.

Not knowing what the hotel served at this hour, Blake took a second to think. “Tuna? Or something light like a salad maybe?” Yang made double finger guns with a wink as she left the room. Really, why must she do everything in a way that dangerously toed the thin line of flirtatious and, and… _Nope_ , Blake couldn’t call any of that strictly friendly considering her stupid butterflies were back again, fluttering away in her chest and causing her to blush fiercely.

She let out a heavy sigh as she sat on her own bed, flopping onto her side to cover her face while letting out a frustrated groan. Blake laid there for a minute before forcing herself to get up and change clothes before Yang’s inevitable return. Two days down, four more to go. She could do this, she had to.

The soft ping of her scroll going off caught Blake’s attention just as she finished stowing away her used clothing. Quickly locating the device, she discovered that she had several missed notifications from… Sun? Seeing the time being close to ten at night, Blake couldn’t fathom what he would want at this hour considering he _should_ be at work. Looking at a few of the timestamps, he had apparently sent several messages throughout the day.

_Sun 12:55 pm > Heyo Blake!_  
_Sun 1:13 pm > Blake?_  
_Sun 2:34 pm > Blaaaaaaaaaake_  
_Sun 8:23 pm > Darn it y u ignoring me?_  
_Sun 9:46 pm > Srsly call me when u get a chance._

Blake sighed heavily as she read his messages. She was half tempted to just continue ignoring him, even if it was purely accidental to begin with as she never heard her scroll go off with how loud the convention hall was. Against her better judgment she hit the call button, figuring that if she didn’t call him, Sun would text or call her at some ungodly hour just to annoy her.

_“Oh my gosh you’re alive! I was just about to send out a search party for you seeing as you never responded to any of my text messages!”_ Suns voice broke through the receiver after the second ring.

“Sorry, the convention was loud enough that I couldn’t hear my scroll.” Blake paused as she overheard what sounded like a car blinker turn on in the background, followed by muffled radio chatter that sounded suspiciously like police chatter… Wait. “Sun, are you out on patrol? Are you even allowed to take personal calls right now?”

_“Uh… Well you know, what the Sarg doesn’t know won’t hurt him. But don’t worry! I’m not the one driving. Neptune’s in charge of that.”_ She heard Neptune give his own greeting in the background.

Blake could already feel a headache forming as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sun… Please tell me that whatever it is you wanted to talk to me about is an emergency. Otherwise you should be, you know, _working_.” Her frustration was no doubt like a slap to her friend as she heard the monkey faunus give a nervous laugh.

_“Yeah well, about that…_ I _would consider it an emergency but-”_

“Sun!” Blake said with exasperation, silently urging him to just continue before she decided to yell at him to call her back. When he wasn’t working.

_“Okay okay, sorry. Neptune and I were wondering if you had a chance to talk to Yang yet?”_

_“Me? Dude, no that’s all on you,_ I _was sayin-”_ Neptune quickly was interrupted by Sun verbally _shushing_ him over the phone.

_That_ was the reason he wanted her to call him while he was on duty? It was official. Blake’s headache was now a full blown migraine as she silently counted to ten to try and keep her composure as best she could. “Sun. I get you are trying to help, but now really isn’t the time for me to have that conversation with Yang. I have to concentrate on getting through the convention first and then-”

_“Convention, schmidt-tion!”_ Sun interrupted with a touch of rarely heard frustration in his own voice. _“Blake, you’re the one that told me that there’s no time like the present! Like_ come on _girl what’s stopping you?”_

Blake felt like she was being pushed into a corner and had to take a deep breath or else she was going to start yelling. Or crying… She couldn’t quite decide which in that moment. She did start to pace behind the loveseat in quick angry strides however. “ _Everything_ Sun. You don’t get it, I could lose _so much_ if I confess my feelings now. I wouldn’t just be risking my friendship with Yang, I would be risking my career and-”

_“Your career? Blake really, don’t you think you are being just a bit_ too _dramatic?”_ Actually, she thought she was being just the perfect amount of dramatic, but Blake bit the inside of her cheek to refrain from telling Sun that. _“Look... Blake, take it from someone who has been there, done that, never wants to do it again. Not to mention that same someone is telling you this because he just wants to see you happy in life, okay? You_ need _to talk to her. And if you don’t then I’m gonna have to take some drastic measures here.”_

She was shaking her head well before Sun had finished speaking. He just wasn’t _getting_ it. “Sun I intend to talk to her, it’s just going to have to wait. Okay?”

_“Fine,_ I guess it _can wait until tomorrow. But if you don’t talk to her then, I’m totally going through with my master plan.”_

Master plan? What the hell was he talking about now? “Sun…” Blake started to say, not caring that there was a pleading note to her voice before being cut off by the sound of something very loud and obnoxious drive by in the background.

As the sounds of sirens quickly followed the passing of the other disturbance, Neptune’s voice was heard yelling through the receiver. _“Sorry Blake but we gotta go! Dispatch, this is Unit 72414, in pursuit of a 510 down-”_ As the call was disconnected, Blake suddenly felt the entire conversation wash over her like a tidal wave, and she was suddenly caught without a life vest drowning underneath the pressure.

\---

Yang felt proud of herself as she was able to open the hotel door on her first try while carrying a small tray filled with food and drink. “So I apologize Blake, they had tuna salad but it was questionable at best. So I got you a caesar salad inste- _Blake_?” Yang’s smile fell from her face as she saw the woman in question curled up on the loveseat. Blake had her knees tucked up and held firmly to her chest making herself look incredibly small. At the sound of her name, she lifted her face from where she previously had it tucked in between her knees and looked at Yang with tear stricken golden eyes.

Never before had Yang moved so fast.

Almost in one motion Yang sat the tray down on the coffee table as she sat next to the crying woman. “Can I ha-ave a hug?” Blake choked out before Yang had a chance to inquire what was wrong. The faunus was already reaching out towards her before she could even nod.

Blake buried her face in Yang’s shoulder just as fresh tears started to spill onto her cheeks. Yang honestly felt like her heart was breaking in two as she pulled Blake into her lap without conscious thought. Holding her tightly, Yang gently swayed them side to side as she begun to quietly usher reassurances to the dark haired woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to admit it but I really struggled writing this chapter. Especially with Coco’s grand appearance. That is until I realized all I had to do was write Coco like I write Weiss. I just had to replace the tsundere with all the confidence in the multiverse and add about 110% percent more style while channeling my inner Edna Mode. Then it was easy! 
> 
> Anywho moving on- I’m sorry Blake, if it feels like I’m picking on you, it’s because I am at this point. Mostly because I can't pick on Yang, because she could like, pummel me to death with her pinky finger alone. Also, does anyone want to guess what Sun’s _“Master Plan”_ Is? Go on… Let’s see who gets it right. >:3


	30. The Q&A Panel

Yang allowed Blake to cry into her shoulder for the next hour or so. It was frustrating not knowing what could have caused Blake’s emotional outbreak in the short amount of time it took getting them both food. She only knew that when she had left, the faunus appeared to have been in good spirits.

So what happened?

Unfortunately she never had the chance to find out. Once Blake had calmed down enough, Yang was barely able to convince her to eat some of her salad before she trudged to her bed and passed out in a heap. As Yang finished her own meal, she came to the reluctant conclusion that the day with all of it’s stressful events must have caught up with the writer. Thinking further, if that was the case, Yang made the easy decision to be more proactive in easing Blake's stress during the rest of the event. Because even though Yang enjoyed having Blake curled up in her arms, seeing her in such an emotional state made her want to find the person who made her cry and pummel them into oblivion. But when her opponent was an emotion of incorporeal substance however, that was just a bit impossible to accomplish.

Regardless, with her renewed dedication Yang had managed to wake up before Blake the next morning, surprising her with the _biggest cup_ of tea she could purchase from the cafe down the street. When Blake gave her grateful smile along with a hug, Yang felt like she was off to a great start as she wore a dopey smile on her face all the way to the convention. Once there though Yang had the lingering impression that something was bothering Blake with how she was acting.

It was almost as if the writer couldn’t decide what emotion she should be expressing. There were times Yang got her to smile, if only barely, before it morphed into an anxious or sad expression. Every time Yang tried to talk about what was bothering her, Blake would either just shake her head or say that she was fine. Which Yang, not once, believed.

Unfortunately Yang wasn’t provided with any other option but to accept Blake’s word because just as Velvet predicted, there was a noticeable influx of participants during the second day of the convention. So many in fact, that Velvet had to request Yang’s aide with various tasks regarding managing the booth. Never before had Yang considered herself the greatest at multitasking, that is until those few moments where it seemed like everyone and their second cousin twice removed had emerged out of the floorboards.

She assisted Velvet with dividing the mass of people into groups of who’s buying a book, autograph or both while she kept a close eye on Blake. Velvet effortlessly handled the book purchases while Yang assisted Blake with autographs, similar to what she had done in the past in addition to keeping an eye on her. Finally, she also helped keep the line chugging along to prevent any lingering bodies from cluttering up the place. And oh yeah, did she mention she did that while keeping an eye on Blake?

Honestly she wasn’t trying to be an overbearing mama bear or anything like that. She was looking for signs of flaring anxiety. And once, during a short reprieve after the fourth wave or so of people, Yang’s attentiveness paid off when Blake started showing signs of descending into one of her panic attacks. She was quick to come to the faunus’s aide, gently taking her by the hand and calmly explaining to Velvet that they would be right back as she led Blake behind the booth to undergo a grounding exercise until she felt calm enough to give the masses another go.

It was grueling. A complete trial by fire even. And if Yang was being honest, even _she_ was starting to crack under the stress. How Velvet was able to stay so genuinely cheerful the entire time and _not_ develop even the slightest bit of homicidal tendencies was a world class mystery to the blonde.

Yang was eternally grateful however that the day ended on a lighter note. About an hour, maybe two before the writers hall was scheduled to close Yang had, by complete chance, spotted a small family walking by dressed up as witches and wizards. So _of course_ Yang ended up running after them for a picture, because one: they were _adorable_ , and two: so she could triumphantly return to a confused looking Blake and rub it in her face! Well, not _literally_ , but there was definitely a lot of waving her scroll around as Yang mockingly cheered out “ _‘cosplaying isn’t a thing,’_ you said, _‘it’s a professional event!’_ HA! Then what’s this!?”

Yeah, she may have been perhaps a bit too happy about proving the faunus wrong about cosplay _not_ being a thing. She spent the rest of their time teasing Blake about what she was going to wear the next day just to further embarrass her. Even Velvet joined in and offered up a few suggestions of her own. Yang knew she liked the intern (even more so than before) when she piped up about the scene in Ivory Fang where Barbara wore only jeans and a sports bra and suggested that Yang wear that, causing Blake to flush brilliantly.

Needless to say, Blake eventually caved and told Yang that she could ‘dress up’ tomorrow, causing the blonde to shout a mighty _WHOOT_ in her victory. But not before pointedly reminding the blonde that tomorrow was the day of the Q&A panel, so under _no circumstances_ was Yang allowed to show up to the convention _without_ wearing a shirt.

Yang just gave her a playful smirk before leaning over to Velvet without breaking eye contact with the writers golden gaze, whispering loudly “she just wants to keep my abs all to herself.”

By the time they got back to the hotel, her shoulder was still red from where Blake smacked her repeatedly. Completely worth it!

On the morning of their third day, well technically it was their fourth day in Haven but it was the third day of the convention, Yang currently found herself humming cheerfully as she finished pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She gave her reflection in the bathroom mirror an approving nod once she was satisfied with her appearance before exiting. Her smile widened as she saw Blake standing by the loveseat just as she wrapped her cardigan over a loose white t-shirt.

It was almost too easy for Yang’s imagination to run wild with the thought of the shirt being one of her own with how loosely it hung on Blake’s frame. _‘Yeah okay stop thinking about it before you start drooling Xiao Long.’_ She thought with a jerk on her mental reins as she busied herself with pulling on her leather jacket.

As she finished shrugging on the jacket, Yang noticed that Blake was staring at her. Almost as if she were lost in thought with how her eyes appeared to take in everything and nothing at all. So of course when Yang’s little shoulder gremlin was suddenly struck with a brilliant idea for mischief, she decided to act on impulse rather than behave and talk herself out of it like she should.

With a hand on her hip purposefully cocked to one side, Yang stared back at Blake with a playful smirk on her lips. “Like what you see kitten?” She purred.

The use of the pet name had the intended effect as Blake snapped out of whatever trance she was in, as her golden eyes narrowed briefly with annoyance in Yang’s direction. That is until the writers features turned into a thoughtful expression. Yang had half expected Blake to retort with some reprimand for calling her kitten, or deliver a smack to the shoulder. What she _wasn’t_ expecting was Blake to slowly walk up to her and reach out to straighten the collar of her leather jacket. “That depends…” Blake started to say in a low voice that had the blonde freeze up and when the faunus leaned in, Yang momentarily forgot how breathing worked. She had leaned so far into Yang’s personal space that she could feel the faunus’s words ghost over the shell of her ear. “What would you do if I said yes?”

_‘Okay, error 404. Yang.exe has stopped working, one moment while Yang.exe attempts to reboot…’_ Yang thought with an involuntary shudder. Did Blake just flirt with her? Because it certainly seemed like that was the case. When was the last time she did that? The quick answer was _never_. Has she traded banter with Yang and given her sass? Yes, on several occasions. But flirt? Nope, this was entirely new territory and Yang was caught completely off guard by it as she attempted to regain her composure by letting out a light cough. “I _huuuuuuh_ … I would, um… You know, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.” She barely stuttered out.

Gods did she want to smack herself! _‘What kind of answer was that? You useless lesbian! All smooth moves and honeyed words until the pretty girl decides to flirt back, and_ NOW _you flounder like a dead fish? Oum how were you_ ever _popular with the ladies?’_ Yang felt like her cheeks were suddenly warm, did it suddenly get hot in here? It certainly felt warmer. Perhaps her brain was just melting and it was just the resulting steam coming out of her ears that was making things hot. Yeah, that had to be it.

Blake took a step back with a hum. “We should probably head downstairs. Our ride will be here soon.” And just like that Blake was gone and out the door.

Yang was speechless. Completely and utterly speechless. What just happened? Well _that’s_ a dumb question. She _knew_ what happened, she attempted to flirt with Blake thinking the writer would play it off as Yang just teasing her again. She wasn’t, but that’s how her previous attempts at flirtation have been taken. So when the situation was gloriously turned around on her, that left Yang with a better question: how does she get Blake to do that again? Because _daaaaaaamn_ …

It was very difficult for Yang to compose herself just enough to not run after Blake. She didn’t want to appear too desperate after all. Also, if she did Yang feared she would pin the faunus against the nearest flat surface. _‘I really hope Blake knows what she just got herself into…’_ Yang couldn’t help the wide smile plastered on her face as she quickly patted her pockets, ensuring she had everything before making her own exit.

\---

As usual, the pair greeted Velvet at the writers hall, the intern having already completed setting things up for the day at the booth. The plan for the day was that Yang and Blake would be down in the writers hall with Velvet for only a few hours before the two had to leave to get Blake to her panel on time. Not like Yang was expected to take part in it, but she was to be there in case Blake needed her.

Honestly Yang was both looking forward to the event and dreading it. On the one hand she’ll no doubt get to witness Blake speaking passionately about her profession, but on the other hand it was rumored, according to Velvet, to be a full house event. Apparently several big name authors from different genres would be joining Blake during the panel.

Of course curiosity got the better of the dark hair faunus after hearing that, so she was currently on her scroll trying to learn who the other panelists were. Seeing as neither she nor Yang had the foresight to grab an event schedule, and Yang was too comfortable with her arm slung over the back of Blake’s chair to bother with getting up to find or ask for one.

“So Velvet, have you talked to Coco since you scored her number?” Yang decided to inquire once there was a lull in conversation. She couldn’t help the teasing note in her voice as she flashed the suddenly bashful intern a toothy grin.

From the corner of her eye she saw one of Blake’s ears twitch, giving away the authors own curiosity on the matter as she continued to conduct her search on her scroll. “I have. And I’ll have you know we texted quite a bit last night.” Even though she was blushing, Velvet sounded very proud of herself.

Now that certainly wasn’t what Yang was expecting. She had pegged Velvet for the shy type but apparently had guessed wrong. She was just about to ask Velvet for details when she heard Blake let out a hiss. Not a cat like hiss, but definitely one that expressed displeasure over whatever it was that she had discovered on her scroll.

Yang found it mildly entertaining that she was able to confirm that emotion simply by noticing the way Blake’s ears were slanted back. “What’s up babe?” Yang leaned in closer to peer over the writers shoulder to try and see the source of her displeasure.

“I found out who the other panelists are.” Blake tilted her scroll for Yang to see better but it didn’t matter as Blake began to read them out loud. Most likely for Velvet's benefit as the intern was perched on the edge of her seat but was too far away to see the tiny screen. “Other than myself representing the science fiction genre, there’s Dr. Bartholomew Oobleck who’s well known for his historical works, and Thumbelina Peach who is a children’s book author. Then there’s one more after them...”

“Oh, I use to read Thumbelina’s books to Ruby when she was a kid. We both really liked her ‘ _Boy and the Giant Melon_ ’ series.” Yang pointed out with a smile as she remembered reading to a ten year old Ruby late at night with a feeling of nostalgia. She never heard of Oobleck though.

“Who’s the last author Blake?” Velvet’s inquiry seemed to strike a nerve with Blake as her ears pinned themselves even further back, nearly blending with her hair.

“Cardin Winchester.” Blake said the name with a mixture of disdain and what sounded like fear that it caused Yang to furrow her brow. Who was this Winchester and why does Blake not like him?

Quickly glancing at Velvet, who also appeared to recognize the name judging by the way her rabbit ears drooped backwards with a crestfallen expression. “Oh. But he’s… Why is he on the panel list?”

Blake looked back to her scroll for a second before answering. “According to this he’s apparently written several popular self help books.”

Well that seemed a little odd to Yang. Peering back down at Blake’s scroll Yang had to squint but she was able to read just a smidgen of the biography listed for this Winchester fellow. When she glanced over the sentence mentioning that he was a former publisher, the reason for Blake’s disdain suddenly clicked. “He was your former publisher wasn’t he?” Yang found herself asking.

When all she got was Blake’s muted nod, Yang felt herself growing angry. “Does your scroll show a picture of him?” With an easy flick of her thumb, Blake scrolled down to show a profile picture of a relatively handsome looking gentleman with smoldering blue eyes and side swept auburn hair. However Yang was overly familiar with how looks can be deceiving and could easily picture this douche yelling at Blake for writing what Yang thought was the best book ever. Though Yang might be a bit bias on that last part, but whatever. She did her best to commit this mans face and name to memory.

“Blake if he so much as breathes in your direction, I _will_ break his legs.” Yang found herself saying before she could stop herself. It caused Blake to pat her on the leg.

“I appreciate the thought Yang, but please don’t get arrested over something trivial like that.”

Yang huffed, feeling her anger slowly dissipate as it realized that it wasn’t needed. Yet. “I make no promises.”

They weren’t able to continue the discussion much longer after that as the writers hall finally opened up to the convention goers and it was business as usual. To keep the mood light though, Yang occasionally would tease Velvet for details regarding her text exchange with Coco. Unfortunately she was tight lipped about it but at least Yang succeeded in causing Velvet to blush to the point her rabbit ears turned pink before Blake kindly asked her to stop.

Of course that only led to Yang teasing Blake instead with overly flirtatious innuendos until they were fetched by one of the convention volunteers and escorted to their panel. Truthfully Yang was attempting to see if Blake would flirt back like she did at the hotel, but all she got were either exasperated eye rolls and more than one smack to the shoulder. Oh and one especially hard poke to the ribs.

Truth be told Yang was a bit disappointed but she was far from discouraged. If anything she was even more determined now as she sat texting Pyrrha off to one side in the giant room the panel was being held in.

After the pair were escorted to the panel by clever use of custodian hallways and staff only passages, Yang was sadly informed that she wasn’t allowed to stay behind stage as she waited with Blake for the event to start. Which was unfortunate as the original plan was to have Yang wait off to one side unseen backstage in order to offer Blake the reassurance that she was close by until the panel was over.

Now she was forced to sit amongst the crowd, though Yang was able to snag a front row seat and made sure to sit where Blake could easily spot her. Or at least she hoped Blake would be able to. They weren’t really able to coordinate that far before Yang was all but threatened to leave least she be escorted out of the building.

So Yang sat and waited for the panel to start as people continued to file into the room, filling up seats quicker than she expected. Judging by how full the room was, Yang figured it wouldn’t be much longer for the panel to start before her scroll pinged, notifying that Pyrrha had responded.

_Pyrrha 12:44 pm > She really flirted with you? How interesting._

Of course Yang had to tell Pyrrha about the new development with Blake. It was expected, or should she say more of a compulsion, to share these types of things with your best friend, right?

To Pyrrha 12:45 pm> IKR?  
To Pyrrha 12:45 pm> totes not imagining it.  
To Pyrrha 12:46 pm> trying 2 get her 2 do it agian but no dice  
To Pyrrha 12:46 pm> suggestions?

_Pyrrha 12:48 pm > you’re asking me for advice on how to get Blake to flirt with you?_

To Pyrrha 12:49 pm> ya

_Pyrrha 12:50 pm > Have you thought about just asking her out?_

Yang huffed out an amused sound. _‘Really? I hadn’t thought of that, what a great idea Pyrrha._ Of course _I have!’_ Yang thought sarcastically as she typed out her response to the redhead.

To Pyrrha 12:51 pm> well DUH  
To Pyrrha 12:51 pm> lyk evr since day 1  
To Pyrrha 12:52 pm> but noooooo sum1 haz ben holding meh bak until recently

_Pyrrha 12:54 pm > (-_-) Yang, just ask her out._

To Pyrrha 12:55 pm> but  
To Pyrrha 12:55 pm> wut if she say no?

_Pyrrha 12:56 pm > Yang really?_  
_Pyrrha 12:57 pm > if she says no, then I’ll break up with Jaune._

The snort Yang released then had more than one head turn in her direction with a puzzled look, but she paid them no mind. Because really, Pyrrha breaking up with Jaune? _Please_ … Her two friends were so adorably _gross_ with their fairy-tale relationship that it made Yang want to vomit on more than one occasion.

To Pyrrha 12:58 pm> psh lyk THAT wil evr hapen

_Pyrrha 12:59 pm > Precisely my point Yang. Ask her out._

Well shit. That… _That_ got Yang to pause. She tapped the side of her scroll in thought but she wasn’t given much time to ponder upon it as the host FINALLY walked out on stage to start the panel.

There was a collective energy that buzzed throughout the hall when he greeted them and introduced himself while doing his best to make things sound exciting. He was a bit long winded and boring in Yang’s opinion, but whatever. She chalked it up to this being just another thing that made a writers convention different from comic con. Different types of nerds, different types of taste.

When the host finally moved on to introducing the special guests for the panel, Yang was quick to pull up her camera app to record the introductions. Dr. Oobleck came out first, emerging from the side of the stage at a near run before being followed by Ms. Peach at a much more leisurely pace. When it was Cardin that came out next, Yang couldn’t restrain the disgusted blanch she made as he smiled charmingly at the crowd. Blake was the last to be introduced and when she walked out on stage, Yang let out the _loudest_ cat call she could muster. It was quickly followed by her cackling gleefully as Blake easily spotted her in the crowd and shot her an exasperated look.

Yang just waved enthusiastically back at her.

“Sounds like you have an avid fan out there Ms. Belladonna.” The host commented just as Blake took her seat causing a light rumble of laughter to ripple through the crowd.

Even from where Yang was sitting she could tell that Blake’s cheeks were dusted pink as she leaned forward towards the mic in front of her. “Thank you, but unfortunately that was only my girlfriend who decided to join us tonight. Though I’m sure she would love to argue that she's my biggest fan.”

_‘Well it’s not like she’s wrong with that assumption.’_ Yang thought as she shot the faunus a wink when she noticed her golden eyes glance in her direction. She stopped her recording after that in favor of taking dozens of pictures. Not that she was worried about her scroll dying on her or anything like that, but Yang was only really interested in the panel for one person. That person being Blake of course. Though Yang did find it rather amusing each and every time the host would address Oobleck as ‘ _Mister_ ’ only to have the authors blue eyes stare at him over the rims of his glasses with a stern “It’s _Doctor_.”

The host proceeded to ask them all several questions, some of which reminded Yang of a few that Coco had asked the other day. So of course Yang found herself growing bored very quickly. That is whenever Blake _wasn’t_ the one speaking of course. When she did, Yang would find herself listening to her with such rapt attention that she couldn't help but smile at herself about it.

Blake was clearly in her element and it showed as the longer she spoke, the more passion Yang could hear in her voice. It was almost like listening to a completely different woman. Gone was the shy personality along with the signs of stress and anxiety that appeared to weigh heavily on her shoulders from time to time. And in its place was a woman who extruded such confidence and passion that Yang was at a loss for words.

Actually no, she had several words like breathtaking, beautiful… Even sexy filtered through her arsenal of one worded adjectives. But none of them seemed like the appropriate one to describe the level of affection Yang suddenly felt as she continued to watch this new Blake in action.

Especially when she would one up Cardin while answering a question.

_Ugh_ , each time he spoke it was like nails on a chalkboard to Yang’s self control to not just march up there and punch him, because every time he opened his mouth all she could hear was bullshit pouring out. And to think that he was the writer of several self-help books. That were _popular_ even.

Yang made another disgusted face as Cardin finished answering a question asking if having a big ego hurt or helped writers. Of course, his answer was that not only does it help, it was a required trait to have for success even.

“Thank you for that Mr. Winchester. Ms. Belladonna would you like to also provide feedback on the matter?” The host asked. Once again Yang found herself all eager ears for what Blake had to say. Though with both Dr. Oobleck and Ms. Peach having given mixed answers, Yang admittedly was curious to know how the faunus would go about answering the question.

Blake pondered the question for a moment before making eye contact with Yang. The blonde only smiled back before Blake gave the barest of nods as if coming to a conclusion of sorts. “Honestly, I think having an ego isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I think that having confidence is better.”

“Oh? Interesting answer, care to further elaborate?”

The faunus fiddled with something that Yang couldn’t see, her fingers most likely, before answering. “It’s the difference between success and self-sabotage honestly. Having confidence isn’t about taking the work you’ve poured your heart and soul into up to a publisher and saying ‘ _They will like it._ ’ It’s more of ‘ _I’ll be okay if they don’t._ ’ Again, having an ego isn’t a bad thing because let’s face it, it’s a part of human nature. But with confidence, you’ll have a better understanding that everyone, including yourself, will always have room to grow for improvement. However, the bigger your ego is, the easier it can become arrogance. Thus making it harder to break out of the assumption that you know everything already and ultimately hinder your ability to develop as a writer.”

As Blake sat back in her seat signalling that she was done, the host looked as if he was at a loss for words before regaining his composure and launched into the next question. The only person who didn’t look impressed by Blake’s answer of course, was Cardin, as Yang spotted him quickly glare at Blake with hardened blue eyes before plastering on a fake smile when the host addressed him.

Yang had to suppress a laugh as she realized that Cardin perhaps possessed some brain with his brawn. At least just enough for him to understand that Blake was subtlety telling him that despite his best efforts at putting her down she was still able to grow and become successful. It caused Yang to smile before a sudden thought came to mind.

Thinking back to her text exchange with Pyrrha, including her previous thoughts on the matter, perhaps that’s what Yang’s problem was. Thinking all this time that she was just afraid to admit her feelings to Blake when really she was just lacking confidence this whole time.

She tapped her knee in quick succession, biting her lower lip before pulling out her scroll just as the host mentioned that they had just one more question to go as she pulled up Ruby’s number.

To Ruby 1:43 pm> come in sister unit 2, sister unit 1 requesting assistance- over

Knowing it was the weekend, she knew Ruby didn’t have classes. Still, she was glad when her sister replied almost immediately.

_Ruby 1:44 pm > sister unit 2 reporting in, whats ur emergency sister unit 1? over._

To Ruby 1:45 pm> tell me I got this

_Ruby 1:46 pm > Uuuuuhhhh_  
_Ruby 1:46 pm > u got dis?_  
_Ruby 1:47 pm > wait wut r u getting?_

To Ruby 1:48 pm> gona ask blake out, I neds the xtra confidence.

The moment she hit the send button, Yang noticed a little too late of her mistake. _‘Shit, I didn’t mean to say that…’_ She thought in panic. It was too late however as Ruby was notoriously faster at texting than Yang as the younger sibling's reply popped up on her scroll before she even had the chance to mentally smack herself over her blunder.

_Ruby 1:48 pm > ok hold up_  
_Ruby 1:49 pm > error code WTH_  
_Ruby 1:49 pm > weiss and I r confuzed_  
_Ruby 1:49 pm > arnt u lyk, dating her alrdy?_

To Ruby 1:50 pm> weiss is wit u?

_Ruby 1:51 pm > we having covfefe_  
_Ruby 1:51 pm > she say u ned 2 anwser th question_

Yang blinked down at her scroll for a second. Weiss was with Ruby? Didn’t Weiss say she was too busy when she discovered Yang’s note? Hold up… She _actually_ contacted Ruby and that little snot _didn’t_ tell her about it? _Ooooh_ Ruby was gonna be in _so much_ trouble when she got home! But first, Yang had bigger issues to deal with as she typed out the first excuse that came to mind and pressed send.

To Ruby 1:53 pm> our dating life iz complicated cause we been so busy  
To Ruby 1:54 pm> we rly hvnt had teh time 2 go out l8tly  
To Ruby 1:55 pm> r u sure I got dis?

_Ruby 1:56 pm > u got dis sis!_  
_Ruby 1:56 pm > lyk 4 realzies_  
_Ruby 1:57 pm > now get dat bellabooty lyk yer life depands on et soldier!!_

To Ruby 1:58 pm> Thanks sis u da best <3

_Ruby 1:59 pm > just doing me job! sister unit 2 over and out!_  
_Ruby 2:02 pm > PS weiss is still confuzled and I quote ‘expects a full explanation when u 2 return 2 vale.’_

_‘Yeah, here’s hoping she’ll forget about it by then… Oh who am I kidding? This is_ Weiss _I’m talking about. She’s probably already marked it in her calendar with a giant red marker with it’s own schedule slot specifically to bring it up again when I get home. Damn it…’_ Yang exhaled roughly as she ran a hand through her hair in worry just as the host was wrapping up the panel. 

The sound of applause drew Yang’s attention as she noticed that the venue was starting to clear out. Quickly looking up to the stage, she just barely caught sight of Blake and the other authors exiting off to one side. _‘Okay here we go, you got this Yang, Ruby even told you so. Just wait for Blake to emerge from backstage and casually ask her out. No need to make a huge fuss over it.’_ Yang thought as she exhaled roughly, feeling suddenly nervous. As the minutes ticked by, Yang couldn’t help but feel her nervousness grow as she began to second guess her own decision. She did her best to squash them but a few doubts still lingered annoyingly at the back of her mind just as Blake finally emerged from backstage.

Yang couldn’t help her smile at the sight of the faunus as she stood to greet her. Though her smile was replaced with a frown the moment Cardin emerged from backstage hot on her heels . That’s when she noticed the slant to Blake’s ears along with the way she was quickly walking in the opposite direction from the other author that told Yang that something was wrong.

It happened so quickly as Yang watched Cardin quickly catch up to Blake, a scowl on his face as he said something in a low voice while making to grab her by the arm. Only to have his wrist grabbed none to gently by Yang herself as she inserted herself quickly between him and Blake.

“Hey, what’s your problem?” Cardin attempted to pull his arm back but Yang tightened her grip only half conscious that she was doing so with her prosthetic as the sensory signals started to dance up her arm.

She knew her eyes were probably red by that point as she watched Cardin visibly flinch as he made eye contact with her. It wasn’t something Yang couldn’t explain or control, but she knew it unnerved a lot of people back in her fighting days and so she used it to her advantage as she leveled the taller man with a hard stare. “My problem is that you were about to lay a hand on my _girlfriend_. Now I’m not going to call you a prick, but clearly you wear high collared shirts to hide your circumcision scars.” Even though she tried to keep her tone low and even sounding as to not draw attention, Yang couldn’t help the underlying threat that seeped into her voice as she finally released Cardin's wrist. Taking only slight satisfaction in how he instantly cradled the limb as he took a step back.

“Yang…” Blake’s voice sounded distant as Yang’s blood pounded in her veins, drowning out everything other than that of her opponent as her body was reading itself for a fight. She so wanted to pummel this man into a pulpy mess until not even his mother could recognize him. A feeling that nearly intensified as she felt Blake clutch the back of her jacket and so Yang held out an arm to further shield her from the asshat in front of her.

Cardin’s blue eyes burned with hate as he sneered at Yang. “Your girlfriend? Oh I see. So you’re one of them animal lovers then. Well you better watch it blondie or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll _what_?” Interrupted a deep thundering voice that had everyone's head turning. Including Yang’s, though in her case she had to also look up. The man was _huge_!

Not only that but the man looked intimidating with his casual business attire making him look like a man of power. Intimidation aside, Yang couldn’t help but feel a sort of familiarity as she took in his slicked back black hair and trimmed beard. Even his piercing gold eyes, which where currently fixated on Cardin, seemed familiar. Though there as no way Yang has met this man before, surely she would have remembered meeting a man that had her sweating bullets by just _speaking_. So where have…

“Dad!?” Blake’s voice sounded from behind her as her grip tightened on her jacket.

Yang felt the blood drain from her face as she suddenly remembered exactly where she had seen this man before. Blake had a picture in her living room of her college graduation standing next to this man along with another shorter woman, presumably her mother now that Yang thought about it.

Yang gulped. Oh she was _so_ screwed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of advanced warning of Yang’s god awful texting skills making an appearance in this chapter. I just couldn’t help myself. And just in case the _covfefe_ joke flew over your heads (which I understand may happen for some of my non-american readers), Ruby and Weiss were having _coffee_. 
> 
> Putting that aside however, Maldevinine you were only partially right. While I do occasionally use people's comments or suggestions for future story ideas, in this case however I already had this chapter completely written by the time I had posted the previous chapter. (because I always try to write ahead of schedule.) So it was actually your first guess, _1) Ring Blake's mum_ that was correct. (^-^) Now… WHO’S READY TO MEET THE PARENTS!?


	31. The Belladonna’s

After the panel was over Blake felt like she could finally breathe once she retreated backstage. Her anxiety had flared unexpectedly during the panel, not so much caused by the crowd of people sitting out in the venue but rather it was caused from having to sit next to her former publisher. After all these years, Blake hadn’t expected his presence to still have such an impact on her emotions that she was glad to finally put some much needed distance between them.

Feeling calmer, Blake continued to wait a few minutes in order to allow the crowd outside to thin out some more before she rejoined Yang so that they could return downstairs to the Writers Hall. That is until a low harsh tone cut through the air like a jagged knife. “Where do you get off thinking you belong here, _animal_?”

Blake instantly felt her ears flatten at the venomous tone Cardin directed towards her. Quickly looking around, the host as well as the other authors, were nowhere to be seen as Blake felt her anxiety flare anew. This was bad. She did _not_ want to have a confrontation with her former publisher.

“You think you're better than me? Is that it?” Cardin continue to speak harshly as he advanced on her. Not wanting to face him alone, especially when Cardin’s blue eyes promised violence, Blake promptly turned on her heel and walked out to the front. Quickly rounding the corner she immediately spotted Yang and made a beeline in her direction. Yang would keep her safe…

“Just where do you think you’re going? I’m not done talking to you-” Cardin’s words were cut off by the sudden appearance of Yang standing in between them. Turning, Blake saw that Yang held his wrist at a painful looking angle with her prosthetic hand. “Hey, what’s your problem?” As Cardin attempted to pull his arm back, Blake noticed that Yang’s grip only tightened further as she twisted it a bit more.

The faunus was about to tell her that that was enough, that there was no need to cause a scene when she caught sight of Yang’s eyes. Gone was the gentle lilac the faunus was accustomed to seeing and in its place was a furious red that glared back at Cardin.

“My problem is that you were about to lay a hand on my _girlfriend_. Now I’m not going to call you a prick, but clearly you wear high collared shirts to hide your circumcision scars.” Yang’s tone was low and threatening as she finally let go of Cardin’s arm, the man instantly cradingly his wrist against his chest. Blake could see the bruises already blossoming where Yang had gripped him.

When he took a step back away from Yang, the blonde looked as if she was about to advance on him like a predator stalking prey. “Yang…” Blake quickly gripped the back of the blondes jacket in an effort to stop her. Honestly, this version of Yang scared her as Blake suddenly found herself in fear for Cardin’s well being. Under any other circumstances the thought might have made Blake laugh but right now, as Yang held out a hand as if to shield her, there wasn’t a shred of doubt in her mind that the former fighter was about to send this man to the hospital.

Cardin fixed Yang with a sneer. “Your girlfriend? Oh I see. So you’re one of them animal lovers then. Well you better watch it blondie or I’ll-”

“Or you’ll _what_?” Interrupted a deep thundering voice that had the blood drain from Blake’s face.

Oh no… nonononono _NO_ … That voice, she _knew_ that voice. Turning her head she saw the seven foot tall individual dressed in casual business attire. His golden eyes boring holes into the slightly shorter man as Ghira awaited for him to answer with his arms crossed.

“Dad!?” Blake couldn’t help but nearly squeak out as her grip on Yang’s jacket tightened. What was he doing here?

“Well? What was it you were intending to do young man?” Ghira spoke as he continued to stare at Cardin expectantly. Completely ignoring Blake and Yang for the time being.

Cardin just stared wide eyed at Blake’s father for a second as he opened and closed his mouth several times before giving Blake one final look and walked away. Very quickly in fact, leaving Yang and Blake alone with Ghira who still had his hardened golden eyes trained on Cardin’s retreating form until he was out of sight. When Ghira finally turned his attention towards them, both women visibly flinched.

\---

“I’m going to _kill_ Sun…” Blake declared the moment the hotel door shut behind her. How dare he call her parents without her knowing! Was this his ‘ _master plan_ ’ that he was mentioning the other day? If it was then she most certainly was going to give him an earful when she next saw him. And _then_ murder him.

“I’ll help you hide the body.” Yang commented as she ran a hand through her golden bangs before collapsing in a heap on the loveseat. Meeting her father was obviously a bit much for the former fighter and Blake couldn’t blame her. Ghira was… how would she put it? He wasn’t necessarily an overbearing parent but he was definitely more to handle than Yang’s own father had been. And that’s _with_ advanced warning. But thanks to Sun, he had called her parents who happened to be in Kuroyuri for business and told them _all_ about Blake being in Haven for an event along with her girlfriend.

So of course her parents drove up in order to reconnect with their daughter and meet this supposed girlfriend that they had no prior knowledge of. Blake sighed heavily. At least her mother wasn’t at the convention along with her father due to being tied up with a meeting of some sort and couldn’t make it. Not that Blake minded the absence of her mother, but that would have been _way too much_ for even Blake to handle all at once if she _did_ show up. Ghira did inform them though that Kali insisted that they all go out to dinner tomorrow evening.

Blake was seriously contemplating on faking an illness in order to get out of having to attend dinner with her parents. Unfortunately she knew such a farce would only lead to having Kali show up unannounced at the hotel to baby her. _Ugh_ what was she going to do?

“Blake, if you keep pacing you’re going to end up carving a path into the carpet.” Yang’s voice caused Blake to halt her movements. She wasn’t even aware that she had started to pace.

“Sorry, I guess I’m just nervous.” She hugged herself instead as she stood just behind Yang.

Yang tilted her head against the back of the loveseat to look at her. “Oh believe me, I _know_. It was the same for me when my dad called me out of the blue. Though I imagine having your parents showing up out of nowhere being far worse than just getting a random phone call.”

_‘That’s a bit of an understatement.’_ Blake thought as she nodded before she resumed her pacing. “What are we going to do?” She asked out loud, more to herself than to her companion.

She heard Yang sigh before she stood from the loveseat in order to block Blake’s path, gently placing her hands on the faunus’s shoulders to prevent her from further pacing. “First, _please_ stop pacing. You’re starting to make me nervous Blakey.” Yang said softly before directing Blake to sit on the loveseat, which she did so reluctantly. “Second,” Yang began after resuming her own seat next to the faunus. “We give Sun a slow and painful death before ensuring that his body will _never_ be found. And _then_ we’ll plan on having a nice, _normal_ dinner with your parents.”

Blake scoffed. “That’s the problem though! My parents were the only people I never told about my fake relationship status. I just couldn’t bring myself to lie to them. And now, thanks to Sun, they are going to want to know everything. _Especially_ my mother.” She felt herself deflate at the admission, along with her ears drooping to the sides as she let out another heavy sigh.

Yang wrapped an arm behind her to rub at Blake’s shoulders. The faunus almost instantly relaxed against the soothing touch as she swayed slightly under the blondes warm hand. “We’ll work it out Blake. We have a whole day to come up with something okay? No need to start panicking now, so why don’t we just relax and watch a movie or something? How does that sound?”

Watching a movie was honestly the last thing Blake wanted to do. But she figured that it was better than allowing her worry to continue gnawing away at the pit of her stomach. “Okay.” She said a bit reluctantly. Even before Blake finished speaking, Yang was already digging out her scroll with one hand as she continued rubbing Blake's shoulders with the other.

As Yang proceeded to pull up neatflixs on her scroll, Blake blinked curiously at her. “Why not just use the television?” Yang just shrugged at the question.

“Cause I’m too lazy to call the front desk to have the cable activated. Besides, why bother with something that costs money when their wifi is free anyway?”

Blake couldn’t really argue with that logic. After all, just because Weiss was paying for the room didn’t mean that they were allowed to splurge on random amenities. Plus with the loveseat being relatively small, it meant that Blake would be able to indulge herself in sharing such close proximity with Yang without her suspecting the faunus’s harbored feelings.

They decided to watch some animated show about a boy and his brother taking on an epic quest to return a lost dragon prince back to his realm alongside an elf. It was cute, and before long Blake found herself with her head resting against Yang’s shoulder. At first she was a bit worried about taking advantage of the situation to be this close. But as Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled Blake closer, the faunus couldn’t help but relax further against the blonde.

As the show continued to play like a background noise to her subconscious, Blake’s imagination began to fantasize that this was how all of their movie nights would be like if she and Yang were actually a couple. The two of them cuddled up on the couch together with Blake wrapped in the blondes arms and basking in her warmth. Blake was quick to mentally shake the thought away, not wanting to accidentally confuse what her heart wanted with reality as she tried to refocus her attention on the show.

Like what she had done that morning when she inadvertently answered Yang’s teasing with a blatant flirt.

She hadn’t meant to be so forward, but when Yang had given her that cocky smile and quoted a line from _her own book_ , Blake couldn’t help but think that two could play at that game. Granted, she _may have_ taken things too far when she had leaned into Yang’s personal space to deliver Ayrrn’s answering line. Though it was when the blonde had went rigid as stone that Blake knew for sure that she had crossed a line.

It was… Disheartening, if Blake was being honest. Remembering how Yang visibly became uncomfortable from her flirtation, even if it was just a quote from her book. The memory of this morning even just made Blake even more upset about what Sun had done. She knew he had meant well, but Sun just couldn’t comprehend the delicate situation that Blake was currently in.

Yes, the writer could no longer deny that she _needed_ to talk to Yang, but right now was not that time no matter what her friends thought. Because here she was, currently in another city for work, and sharing a room with the one person she was relying on to help get her through it all in one piece. Not to mention that they had to upkeep a false appearance of being together while in public. If she confessed her feelings now only to be shot down, well, _disastrous_ would be the best of outcomes with _catastrophic_ being the worst case scenario.

No, she couldn’t risk it. Not until they were back in Vale were if things did turn out badly, they would at least have the space to avoid each other should they need to. Blake sighed as she tried to put it from her mind for now as she focused her attention on the animated show on Yang’s scroll. It wasn’t long before Blake felt her eyelids grow heavy from the combination of Yang’s scent and comforting warmth that she quickly found herself nodding off.

When sleep finally took her, Blake was unaware of the fond smile that spread across the blondes face as she brushed aside the faunus’s dark hair. After placing the softest of kisses on her forehead, Yang then scooped up the sleeping woman as gently as possibly as she walked over to the bed and tucked her in under the covers.

The next day, besides waking up with the impending dread of having to go to dinner with her parents looming over her head like a ticking time bomb, Blake was largely operating on autopilot. The only real thing she had to focus on was choosing what to wear for the day with her limited amount of clothing left available. Ghira had mentioned that dinner would be a formal affair, and so unfortunately that meant wearing something nice would be in order seeing as both Yang and Blake would be heading to the restaurant almost immediately after the convention was over.

On the bright side, at least Blake didn’t have to scold Yang regarding her choice of attire. It must have been a sign that the blonde was also stressed about tonight as she even asked Blake for her opinion on certain articles of clothing.

Still, the day flew by without Blake wanting it to for a change as she spent the last day of the convention holed up at her booth signing books like she had been for the last several days. During the breaks in between the rushes of people, Blake would engage in conversation with Velvet, as she formed a sort of fast friendship with the other faunus. Or she would find herself having to save the poor intern from Yang’s endless teasing whenever Velvet was caught smiling down at her scroll.

Blake could barely refrain from sighing each time she compared her level of courage to that of the other faunus. She wouldn’t admit it out loud but she was envious that Velvet had not only been given the number to a relatively attractive woman, but also texted them without hesitation. Granted, Blake did have Yang’s number, hell she was even the one that initially gave it to the blonde that fateful day at the cafe, but it was Yang who had texted her first.

Actually now that she thought about it, Blake never was the one to have gone past that initial point of contact in a relationship. When she had dated both Illia and Sun, she had given her number out to the both of them, but it was they who had not only sent the first text but were also the first ones to further proceed with courtship. Was that why she was dreading her impending talk with Yang? Because it would mean breaking this habit she’d unknowingly formed and force herself to be the first one to come forward?

Well it certainly made a lot of sense the more Blake thought about it. Not that she was happy about this sudden revelation, but at least it gave her something to ponder about.

When the regretful time came for the vendor hall to close, both Blake and Yang ended up stalling for more time by assisting Velvet with packing everything up before saying their final goodbyes. Yang even gave Velvet a parting bear hug once they ran out of excuses to procrastinate further before they had to catch a cab to the restaurant where Blake’s parents were no doubt waiting for them.

Blake couldn’t help but fidget nervously during the entire ride to the restaurant. The plan, if one could even call it that, was that they were going to handle dinner similarly to how they handled their trip to Patch. With Blake’s parents having never met Yang, the blonde would be allowed to act normally while Blake herself would be the one slipping into the girlfriend role this time. Other than that they would answer as many questions with the truth as they could. Otherwise they would just try their best to appear like a normal couple.

Yang was confident that they could pull it off. Blake however wasn’t as confident. Yes such a simple tactic may have worked on Tai, but knowing her parents they were a bit sharper given their profession as government officials. Especially her mother. Of course if Blake _only_ had to worry about her parents and their uncanny perception, that would be too much to ask for.

She seriously thought the universe was having a grand old laugh at her as the taxi finally pulled up to their destination. A fancy looking, or at least in name anyway, restaurant located smack dab in the heart of downtown Haven.

While Blake was busy trying not to panic in the back of the taxi, Yang had apparently already paid the driver and hopped out of the backseat and was patiently waiting for the faunus to notice her outstretched hand to assist her out of the vehicle.

“Blake, just focus on me okay?” Yangs voice drew the faunus’s attention as she finally noticed Yang’s outstretched hand and gingerly took it. When she fully stepped out of the taxi cab, the sound of the car door shutting behind her sounded almost like a nail being driven into a coffin to the faunus as she visibly flinched. Yang instantly wrapped her arms around her and Blake couldn’t help but tuck her head beneath her chin.

“It’s okay Blake, You’re safe.” Yang repeated softly while Blake concentrated on trying to calm her suddenly racing heart. Even more difficult was telling the stupid voice in the back of her head telling her that there was _too many_ people in the immediate area to just. Shut. _Up_.

Instead, Blake tried her best to just focus on the smell of Yang; her warm vanilla scent along with the warmth of her hands as they rubbed at her upper back and shoulders. The sound of her calm voice as she ushered reassurances along with the steady thump of her heart against Blake's cheek.

It wasn’t easy but after a few minutes Blake was able to detach herself from Yang, even if it was just by a few inches so that they could make their way into the restaurant. Fighting off a panic attack wasn’t _exactly_ how Blake wanted to greet her parents, but she didn’t have a choice in the matter as she continued to cling to Yang’s arm. She was glad that Yang had taken things slow, even going so far as to allow Blake a few minutes to settle her nerves once inside before greeting the hostess so that they could be led through the maze of tables and various patrons to where her parents awaited them.

She spotted her father long before the hostess had even reached the table. His large frame still allowing him to seemingly tower over the other seated patrons within the dining room. Though despite his size, it was her mother who happened to look up and notice their approach first. Her mother’s matching golden eyes catching Blake’s as her pierced feline ears perked up at the same time her face lit up in a bright smile.

Blake tasted bile in her throat just as she tried to smile back at her mother. It was time to face the music, she just prayed that she would get through this dinner in one piece.

\---

Yang couldn’t decide if she was scared, nervous or excited as she exchanged introductions with Blake’s mother, Kali. She wagered it was just a heavy dose of nervousness mixed with the lingering intimidation from her impromptu meeting with Ghira the previous day. Did Blake feel this nervous when she met Tai? Something in the back of Yang’s mind told her maybe, but perhaps not nearly to this extent. Her dad was as harmless as the corgi he doted upon compared to Blake’s beast of a dad. Seriously, what was this man fed as a child to get so _huge_!?

She tried not to think too much on it as she pulled out Blake’s chair in order for her to sit next to her mother before taking her own seat next to Ghira.

“Oh it is just so good to see you my dear! I’m so glad to see that you are doing well.” Kali offered with another fond smile shot at her daughter. Blake, for the most part did her best to look pleased but having gotten to know her, Yang could tell that she was just as nervous as she was.

“It’s good to see you both as well. Dad was telling me the other day that you two were in Kuroyuri for business. How was that?” Even though Blake’s voice sounded genuinely curious, Yang noticed the slight tremble to her hand as she reached over to hold her prosthetic on top of the table. She offered the faunus a light squeeze in reassurance.

As Kali launched into telling them about the equal opportunity rights act they were working on Yang was hard pressed to appear interested. She never really was one for politics but Yang was admittedly a little shocked to hear about how faunus discrimination in the workplace was still a thing. But it would seem that Blake’s parents, no matter how passionate they were in their work, were more interested in current affairs. Or more specifically, their daughters dating life.

“So, exactly how long has this been going on?” Ghira’s deep voice broke the silence once the waiter had taken their orders and left. And when he said ‘ _this_ ’ he had gestured vaguely to where Yang and Blake were still holding hands on the table.

Yang was about to answer but stopped herself as she looked over at Blake, silently telling the writer that she should answer the question instead. Because they still didn’t know how much Sun had told them and Yang highly doubted saying ‘ _oh about a handful of months_ ’ would bode well.

Thankfully Blake appeared to catch on to Yang’s wavelength as she offered her father a small smile. “A few years. We’ve… Had some challenges along the way but we make it work.” Yang found it appropriate to take that time to offer Blake a kiss to the back of her hand. Taking silent enjoyment in the way a blush crept up the faunus’s neck as her lips pressed against the smooth skin of the writers knuckles.

Ghira watched the exchange through narrowed golden eyes. “Is that so?” Yang suddenly felt very small under his gaze just then. “And exactly what kind of _challenges_ did you have with my daughter?” The serious tone in his voice had Yang gulping down a pitiful noise as he directed the question at her.

“Dad…” Blake’s voice sounded worried as she stared at her father with ears slightly tilted back. That is until Kali swatted at her husbands arm from across the table.

“Oh Ghira, leave the poor woman alone. I’m sure our daughter is more than capable of managing a healthy relationship at her age.”

“ _Mom_!” Blake’s ears were now tilted all the way to her hairline as her cheeks tinted pink.

_‘Oh boy… And here I thought Tai’s interrogation was nerve wracking…’_ Yang thought as she distracted herself with a sip of her complimentary water.

“I’m just saying, if they have been together for so long, then why haven’t they married yet?” Ghira continued, almost sounding offended at his wife’s words while Yang just about spat out her water. Yup, she was _definitely_ not ready to have this conversation, fake relationship or not. At least Blake seemed to share Yang’s thoughts on the matter as she buried her face in both hands with a low groan.

“Could we not have this conversation… _Please_ …” The writer pleaded from behind her palms.

Kali gave her daughter a sympathetic smile as she patted her on the shoulder. “Now now dear, your father has a point. We’re not trying to pressure you two or anything, it’s just more of a curious observation is all.”

Blake looked like she was about ready to die of embarrassment just then so Yang quickly came up with an answer that would hopefully satisfy the older Belladonna’s. She was barely able to clear her throat around the sudden lump that had formed before speaking up. “Well, that actually may be my fault. Well not _really_ but… Well um you see when Blake and I met, I wasn’t really in the best of places. Mentally speaking. But uh… Well the ‘ _challenges_ ’ Blake mentioned…” Yang struggled to explain with a heavy sigh as she rubbed the back of her neck worriedly. Silently Yang decided that a bit of show and tell would probably be easier than her trying to explain everything and started to take off the glove covering her prosthetic.

A pair of hands halted her action almost as soon as she started. “Yang… You don’t have to show them.” Blake’s voice sounded worried as she looked at her with pleading eyes.

She just gave the faunus a grateful smile. “It’s alright Blake. I’m fine.” Yang affectionately patted Blake's hand as she finished removing the glove. She tried her best not to notice the reactions of Blake’s parents as the yellow and black limb was fully revealed for all eyes to see.

“As I was saying, I met Blake shortly after losing my arm in a vehicle accident. So as you can imagine I was a bit of a hot mess and all that. Not to mention the physical therapy and then being outfitted with a prosthetic followed by even _more_ PT… Yeah as you can imagine, it's been tough on us. Thankfully your daughter isn’t easily scared off.” Yang tried to laugh off the sudden nervous atmosphere.

Ghira looked as though he was about to say something but Kali had beat him to it with a light laugh of her own. “Oh tell me about it, Blake gets it from her father. I swear, even when she was little, if she set her mind to something, there was absolutely no stopping her.” Yang smiled earnestly at that, though she could still feel some tension hanging over the table.

Thankfully Yang knew just the topic to completely break it. “I bet. But I’m curious, did Blake _really_ set fire to your study because there was a lizard loose in the house?” She asked Ghira with a smirk.

It had the intended effect. All at once the tension shattered as Ghira let out a loud laugh while Blake let out an exasperated noise as she face palmed once more. Yang heard, more than saw Kali lean over to her daughter and whispered “Oh I like her…”

The rest of dinner felt more relaxed to Yang as they continued to enjoy conversation over their meals. Both Ghira and Kali seemed like good people, and great parents as they both seemed proud of their daughter's recent success. It was… nice, if Yang was being honest.

By the time her and Blake finally got back to the hotel, they were both exhausted. Yang, even while on the verge of a food coma, was only slightly better off than Blake as the faunus looked about ready to collapse. No doubt from having to also struggle with managing her anxiety during dinner.

Yang sat heavily on her bed in order to take off her shoes. She had one boot off before she noticed that Blake hadn’t moved from the foyer. “Hey, is everything okay?” She asked slowly while she occupied herself with working on the other boot.

Blake glanced at her before looking down at her own feet, hugging herself as she shook her head. “No… Well, I don’t think so. Maybe?” Yang raised an eyebrow at the troubled look written all over the other woman’s features.

“Maybe? Blake what’s wrong?” Yang wanted to stand up in order to console the dark haired woman but remained seated, offering her a sympathetic look instead.

“It’s… It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Blake finally walked further into the room to sit on her own bed. She had her back facing Yang as she went about taking her heels off.

Now, Yang might have let the whole thing drop just then, but the way Blake’s ears were still tilted back as if something was bothering her had Yang determined to figure out what it was. “You know, when you say ‘Don’t worry about it’, I’m gonna worry about it.” Yang said as she finally stood up and walking over to sit down next to Blake who suddenly appeared to tense up at her presence. “Come on Blake, you know you can talk to me. What’s bothering you?”

She watched Blake close her eyes as she sucked in her lower lip. She almost appeared to be struggling with what she wanted to say before she gave Yang a woeful expression. “It’s just that… I’m sorry.”

Well, that’s not what Yang was expecting. “Sorry? For what?”

Blake gave a mirthless laugh. “Everything…” She started before she fully turned towards Yang. “I’m sorry for my friends and the way my parents had treated you tonight. I’m sorry for making you have to pretend to be my girlfriend when I’m too scared to admit the truth. I’m just… So sorry, for everything.”

Yang could hear the heavy emotion behind Blake's words. “Hey, you don’t have to be sorry Blake. I agreed to this after all.” She attempted to reach out to lay a hand on the other woman’s shoulder but Blake was quick to shake off the gesture and stood abruptly, catching Yang off guard.

“No you don’t get it. It doesn’t matter if you signed up for this or not! Have you ever given thought to what will happen when this is all over? What will become of us after the awards ceremony this November?” Blake snapped out as she began to pace.

“Well I-” Yang started to say before Blake whirled around on her.

“Even after the ceremony, we might still have to occasionally pretend to be a couple. So what would we do then? Do I randomly call you up like some girlfriend on demand service provider? Yang I- I can’t keep putting you through this...” Blake was near hysterical by this point as she continued to pace the length of the hotel room while holding herself tightly.

Yang was dumbfounded. This is what was bothering Blake? “Blake, you seriously think I mind all this?” She said slowly as she stood from the bed.

Blake stopped her pacing long enough to look at Yang with golden eyes threatening to spill tears. “Why wouldn’t you? I know it makes you uncomfortable, so why do I have to continuously make you do something that you’re not okay with?”

_‘Wait? Me, uncomfortable? When?’_ Yang thought furiously, wracking her brain for even one single second that she was uncomfortable. Well other than Ghira talking about marriage and whatnot during dinner perhaps, but something told her that that wasn’t what Blake was referring to. “Blake, name _one time_ that I told you that I was uncomfortable with something that you’ve done.” She asked instead.

Blake was silent for a moment before she shook her head. “You didn’t have to tell me, I could tell-”

“Blake, I’ve _never_ been uncomfortable with any-” Yang tried to interrupt but Blake just ended up talking over her.

“Yes you were. Just the other day, the day of my panel when I… When I flirted back when you quoted a line from my book...” Blake was starting to breathe heavily as she clutched at her rib cage tighter. Yang knew her doing so was a dangerous sign, telling the blonde that the faunus was on the verge of a serious panic attack. But perhaps for the first time Yang wasn’t focused on that as she was caught up on something she said instead.

_‘Quoting a line from her… Wait, she thought I was uncomfortable with her_ flirting _with me?’_ She felt like laughing at the absurd thought but refrained. “Blake…” Yang started to say as she approached Blake. She noticed that the faunus’s cheeks were wet with tears as she reached out towards her.

The moment Yang touched her shoulder, Blake let out a choked sob. “No. I can’t keep using you like this...”

Yang wrapped Blake up in a hug. She attempted to push Yang away but the blonde just held onto her more firmly “Blake, it’s okay.” She tried to say as Blake just thumped a fist harmlessly against the blondes shoulder in protest.

“But it’s not okay! Not when I-I….” She choked back a sob just as she finally allowed Yang to pull her into her frame, taking large intakes of air as Blake was visibly trying not to hyperventilate.

“Not when you what Blake?” Yang encouraged quietly as she waited for Blake to vent out her troubles.

“N-not when I have feelings for you.”

Not when she… Oh… _OH_! Yang couldn’t help but blink as her brain finally processed what the writer was confessing. “Blake?” She couldn’t help but ask as Yang stared down at Blake a bit bewildered.

“I-I’ve tried to keep my feelings to myself... To stamp them out. B-but I can’t. I Like you Yang, as in _more_ than just a friend.” Blake clarified in between sobs as she buried her face in the blondes shoulder.

Yang chuckled lightly as she hugged Blake just a bit tighter against her. She couldn’t help it as she found herself suddenly inexplicably happy. “Good, that means if I ask you out on a date you’ll say yes right?”

It was Blake’s turn to look a bit bewildered as she lifted her head from Yang’s shoulder, golden eyes wide as she took in what Yang just said. “W-What?”

_‘Seriously, what am I going to do with this woman…’_ Yang thought as she gave the faunus an adoring smile, conveying as much affection as she could. “Blake I’ve had the _biggest_ crush on you since the day we met. So, now that that’s been said, will you allow me the pleasure of taking you out on an official date?”

Blake pulled back just far enough to fully look at Yang, her golden eyes looking at her in disbelief in silence for so long that Yang was just about to say something. That is until Blake had lurched forward, delivering a kiss that Yang hadn’t been expecting but had been fantasizing about for ages. Okay that may have been an exaggeration as the kiss itself was sloppy as their lips came together a bit off center.

Yang could care less however as she felt Blake reach up with her hands to run her fingers through her hair, her own finding the faunus’s waist. When they parted Yang couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face as she leaned her forehead against Blake’s. The faunus was smiling back at her with bright golden eyes shining with unshed tears of joy. “Sooooo I take that as a yes?” Yang couldn’t help but ask as her smile turned into a smirk.

The faunus’s answer came in the form of pulling the blonde in for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear these chapters are getting longer and longer without me meaning to. Oh well... Anyway- _*Plugs in earphones to drown out the onslaught of screaming*_


	32. The Fighter & the Seamonkeys

Yang didn’t want to get up. Here she was, warm, comfortable… The only thing ruining this moment of total bliss was the obnoxious late morning sunlight shining _juuust_ right through a small crack in the curtains, allowing it to shine directly into her face.

She attempted to rollover but something heavy was preventing Yang from escaping the evil sliver of light. When she tried to move again, there was a soft murmur of protest as the weight shifted, becoming even more efficient in preventing Yang from accomplishing her goal. Blinking her eyes open and squinting against the evil light, Yang looked down and was greeted by a mass of dark hair.

_‘Huh, who knew Blake was such a cuddler…’_ Was Yang’s first thought as she felt Blake snuggle further into her right side. Lifting her head a bit from the pillow, Yang could barely see over the top of the sleeping woman’s head as she tucked herself further into the blonde's collarbone. The writer even had a leg thrown over both of Yang’s, causing the blonde to smile as she compared the sight to that of a child sleeping with a teddy bear.

Of course that meant that Yang was the teddy bear, which she was more than okay with given current circumstances.

Still, Yang couldn’t help but smile fondly down at the sleeping woman. After finally getting Blake to verbally agree to go out on a date, which still gave Yang butterflies of excitement just thinking about, they ended up talking well into the night. That is until Blake fell asleep on Yang's shoulder, and for once the blonde couldn’t bring herself to move away from her. So she tucked them both into the same bed, still fully clothed and found sleep soon after taking off her prosthetic.

Yang continued to lay there, silently enjoying the view long enough for the evil sliver of light to _finally_ move out of her direct line of vision. Thank Oum too. She’s heard of ‘ _blinded by the light_ ’ but Yang much rather it remained as lyrics within a song rather than experience the actual thing.

By the time Blake finally began to stir, Yang figured it was close to noon as she watched the faunus’s cat ears flicker a few times before she scrunched up her face up adorably. “Hey sleepy head. How’d you sleep?” Yang asked quietly, taking consideration of Blake’s cat ears being close to her mouth. They twitched again as her breath ghosted over them, causing a smile to creep onto Yang’s lips.

Blake stretched languidly, much like an actual cat would to Yang’s great amusement, before sitting up. “What time is it?” Her voice was thick with sleep, and combined with her long hair being a glorious display of bed head, Yang couldn’t think of a better sight to wake up to.

“I’m not sure. But I’m pretty sure it’s past your tea time though.” Yang said amusedly as Blake reached for her scroll that was sitting on the opposite bed.

She watched as the faunus stared down at her scroll for a moment, almost as if she was in disbelief as her cat ears flicked once before tilting back slightly. “It’s twelve fifteen…”

Yang hummed as she rose up into a sitting position with a stretch. “Yeah?” She asked as she continued to watch the adorable look of confusion on Blake’s features.

“I’ve never slept in this late before…” Blake finally admitted after another moment, causing Yang to smile further.

“Well if you’d like, we can snuggle back up and sleep until we have to catch our plane ride back to Vale.” She shot the writer a wink. To her surprise, Blake looked like she was seriously contemplating the suggestion for a moment before kneeling on the bed to give Yang a quick kiss on the cheek.

“As tempting as that sounds, I think I recall a certain someone insisting on taking me out on a date before we returned home.”

The word _home_ caused Yang to feel warmth inside her chest as she smiled at Blake. The writer however did make an excellent a point. “About that… Do you mind sending me Sun’s number?”

Blake tilted her head just slightly. “Planning on extracting revenge on my behalf regarding his stunt of calling my parents?” She had that tiny smile that had Yang’s heart melting.

She wanted to kiss Blake just then but she didn’t want to push her luck too much with their newly established relationship. It caused Yang to smile internally as she thought of how Pyrrha at least would be proud of her for listening to the redheads advice about taking things slow more seriously than she did with trying to remain just friends with Blake.

“Naw. I’m gonna have monkey boy show me all those ‘ _chilliest places_ ’ he talked about to plan our date. _Then_ I plan on extracting revenge in order to restore your honor.” Yang gave Blake a cheeky smile with a wink, causing Blake to roll her eyes.

“My hero.” She replied sarcastically. She was smiling when she said it though.

“You know it!” Yang said cheerfully as she hopped off the bed. “But before that, I’mma head down to the cafeteria and grab us some grub. Can’t plan the best date you’ve ever been on with an empty stomach now can I?”

“Best date ever huh? Careful Yang, you wouldn’t want to set my expectations too high now.” There was amusement in her voice as she watched Yang put on her prosthetic.

Once the artificial limb clicked into place, Yang shot Blake double finger guns as she walked backwards towards the door. “Well it’s a good thing you set the bar _low_ then when you fell for me.” She laughed as she watched Blake sputter just as her cheeks blossomed a bright pink before heading out the door.

Good to know she could still leave the faunus speechless.

They ended up calling Sun on Blake's scroll together once Yang had returned with some commandeered muffins, putting the scroll on the coffee table with the speakerphone on so that they both could hear. Once he had picked up, the first words out of the monkey faunus's mouth were a bit of a shock to Yang.

_“_ Blaaaake _… It’s too early for anyone to be calling me. So unless you’re calling to tell me that you’ve finally talked to Yang and you’re now officially tapping that, I’m gonna return to my beauty sleep.”_ His voice was slightly muffled as if he had his face half pressed against a pillow.

“Wait, he _knew_ you had the hots for me before _I_ did?” Yang asked with a raised brow.

Blake looked embarrassed as she offered a shrug. “Not exactly, he sorta figured it out when we all had dinner together…”

There was a sound of rustling sheets on the other end of the receiver before Sun's voice, which was no longer muffled and sleep heavy, piped up again. _“Hold up! You mean to tell me that Neptune's plan actually worked?”_

That got both Blake and Yang to share a look. “What do you mean Neptune’s plan? Mom said you were the one that called her and dad.” Blake asked with a raised brow.

_“Well yeah, but only because Neptune chickened out at the last second.”_

Neptune’s tired voice was heard in the background with an offended, _“I did not! It’s just that you know them better than I do, so that’s why I had_ you _talk to them.”_ There was some additional rustling sounds before Neptune spoke again, this time sounding more awake and much closer than before. _“Besides, my plan was_ way better _than Sun’s._ He _was planning on arresting Yang on some bogus charges so that you two could have some sort of romantic confession down at the station.”_

Yang could barely hear Sun mutter, _“I still think it would have worked…”_ It caused her to chuckle.

“Wow, I wasn’t aware that all of our friends were _this_ invested in our love life.” She joked with an additional amused shake of her head.

“Wait, are you saying Pyrrha _knew_?” Blake had her ears tilted back as she gave Yang a slightly horrified look.

Yang couldn’t help but rub the back of her neck, her laughter turning a bit nervous. “Actually… Both Jaune and Pyrrha knew. I _may_ have talked Pyrrha’s ear off about how pretty you were after we first met and so naturally she told Jaune.”

There was a pause as Blake appeared to process this information before blushing brilliantly. If it was because Yang called her pretty or because of something else, she wasn’t sure. “She… I thought… What did she do when you told her?” Blake stuttered before finally finding her words.

“Weelllll… After she stopped trying to get me to be ‘ _just friends_ ’ with you,” Yang used air quotations before continuing, “she just told me to take things slow. I guess she was concerned I would scare you off or something.”

There was an amused snort on the other line of the previously forgotten scroll. _“Wow, you make it sound like you’re into some kinky stuff there Yang.”_

Yang was now the one left blushing. Right... Scroll, friends, speakerphone… _MISSION_! She cleared her throat rather loudly. “That is none of your concern good sir. _Anyway_ , the real reason Blake and I called you, was to have you and your hubby-”

_“You mean boy-toy that I happen to have the sole rights to!”_

_“Hey!”_

_“Shut up, you love it.”_ The sound of a wet kiss being given had Yang turning to Blake to make exaggerated gagging motions.

“ _Eeeewww_ , TMI there boys. This lesbian _does not_ desire the image of your gross male on male shenanigans.” Yang made a few more disgusted noises that had Blake smiling as she was making a visible effort to not laugh out loud. “ _As I was saying_ … I need you two to put some pants on and come pick me up so I can figure out where I can whisk Blake away on a date before we head back to Vale later tonight.”

_“Yeah sure! Give us an hour or so and we’ll play tour guide for you.”_ Neptune said before a very loud and very excited Sun had cut in.

_“Aw yeah! Operation_ Fighter Monkey's _is a go!!”_

Blake face palmed before erupting in laughter, which was quickly followed by Yang’s own amusement at the strange code name. “Your friends are weird.” Yang commented once they disconnected the call.

Blake just looked at her, head tilted slightly as she gave her that small knowing smile of hers. “Perhaps, but at least they are no weirder than your friends.”

Yang couldn’t stand it any longer as she leaned in and gave Blake a slow kiss, humming when they parted only millimeters apart. “And I wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

She felt Blake’s smile widen against her lips. “Me neither.” She murmured back just as she reconnected their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter I know. But after all the waiting I’ve made you all go through while the bee’s figured themselves out I thought a mini chapter jam packed with ALL THE FLUFF was in order. So I hope you all enjoy!


	33. The Writer and the Publisher

Blake was attempting to read but was having little success in doing so.

It wasn’t that the book she was reading was bad per say. It was actually quite good. It was just that everytime she attempted to read a single word or sentence her mind would wander back to that morning and she would suddenly catch herself daydreaming. She initially hadn’t meant to fall asleep on Yang after their chat last night. But waking up and finding herself surrounded by the fighters scent was almost as good as waking up to a pot of freshly brewed tea.

Pausing for the uptenth time in her attempt at reading, Blake’s imagination ran with the fantasy of Yang walking into the bedroom with a tray laden with breakfast and tea. Perhaps as a gesture for some special occasion or just because. Maybe she would even wake Blake with a kiss. Giving up all pretense of reading, Blake shoved her bookmark in place as she blushed furiously to herself. Although this time, her overactive imagination wasn’t followed by a sudden sense of guilt or embarrassment as she would have before. Before, she thought such wild fancies would never happen with Yang. Now though…. Now what was previously thought of as a hopeless want was now completely within the scope of probability.

With a wistful sigh Blake flopped onto her side, lying lengthwise on the loveseat. She felt silly as she continued to smile to herself with a blush still hot on her cheeks. She felt... Lighter somehow. Giddy even. She had finally confessed her feelings to Yang! Granted the circumstances could have been better, but at least Yang had admitted that she shared the same feelings for Blake. She even asked her out!

Blake couldn’t contain the giggle that bubbled up out of her just then. Gods she felt like a teenager all over again, this was ridiculous!

Her mirth however was cut short by the sound of her scroll going off. The foreboding tones of the Imperial March causing her cat ears to tilt back as Blake shot up from the love seat to reach for the device. Just incase her ringtone was wrong Blake quickly looked down at the caller ID and sure enough, Weiss’s name was flashing back at her. Why was she calling? Was there some meeting that Blake had forgotten about? No that didn’t sound right…

Blake answered her scroll with a confused “Hello?”

_“Hello Blake-"_ Weiss started to say in a cool tone before being cut off by a familiar excitable voice.

_“Hi Blake! Wait, she can hear me right? Or did you not put it on speakerphone yet?”_

_“You dolt, not you Blake I meant Ruby…”_ Weiss assured the faunus as Blake felt one of her eyebrows shoot up. Well this was certainly interesting...

“Hello Weiss, and hello to you too Ruby…” She greeted as a smile crept onto her lips. Blake had to admit, she was curious about the younger girls presence. Didn’t she remember Weiss mentioning something about being too busy to make new friends shortly after finding Yang’s note? Curiously Blake wondered if Yang had any knowledge of her ridiculous plan of getting the two women to meet actually working. Hmmm, she might have to inquire about it later as Blake refocused her attention on the conversation at hand. “What’s up? Are you calling to see how the convention went?”

_“Yes!”_

_“No...”_

_“Awww come on Weiss!”_ The sound of Ruby’s following whine was all too familiar. Having not only heard but witnessed it plenty of times back in Patch, Blake could easily imagine the younger brunettes puppy dog eyes that often accompanied it. And judging by Weiss’s following response, Blake had imagined correctly.

_“_ No _, we talked about this! We have other pressing matters to discuss.”_ Weiss added with a ‘ _hmph_ ’ just as Blake could hear Ruby mutter something that sounded suspiciously like ‘ _spoilsport_ ’ in the background.

What did she mean by ‘ _pressing matters_ ’ though? “Has the review board finally replied back with their feedback?” Blake asked cautiously.

_“Yes, but that’s not why I decided to call you.”_ There was an underlying tone of foreboding in Weiss’s voice that had Blake tilt her ears back in apprehension. _“I was calling to ask you a few questions. You see, Yang had said something the other day that I thought was curious so-”_

_“Oh yeah! Did you she ask you-”_

_“_ Ruby _! Do you mind?”_ Ruby’s interruption was cut off sharply by Weiss’s stern tone of voice. It even caused Blake to wince on the younger girls behalf just as she heard her utter an apology. _“_ As _I was saying, Yang had said something in passing that I found curious is all. Now I was going to wait until you two were back in town, but it would appear that certain circumstances have deemed that inadvisable.”_ Weiss’s cryptic explanation had left Blake more confused than ever.

“What do you mean by that Weiss, what’s going on?”

_“She means she nearly got mugged by a shutterbug on her way into work yesterday wondering where they can find my sister.”_ Ruby cut in.

“Shutterbug?” Blake couldn’t help but repeat the word.

_“Yeah you know, paparazzi type people. Though Weiss calls them sharks for whatever reason...”_ Ruby easily explained.

“Oh… I see.” Well that was certainly problematic.

She heard Weiss let out what she perceived as a disappointed sigh. _“Yes, as Ruby so_ tactfully _put it. They had the gall to physically approach me as I was walking into the office but thankfully, Gregor happened to be close by and escorted the individual off the premises.”_ If Blake remembered right, Gregor was the burly security guard who typically worked in the lobby. Nice enough guy, once you got past how intermediately _large_ he was.

“I’m glad to hear he was there to help. But what does this have to do with what Yang said?” Blake asked as she curled herself up on the loveseat.

There was a moment of silence on the other line, giving the faunus the impression that Weiss was mentally organizing her thoughts first before she spoke them out loud. _“Yang had texted Ruby the other day mentioning that your dating life was..._ Complicated _. And I’m just curious, how long have you two been dating again?”_

Well this certainly felt like a trap. Blake felt her ears fold back again but tried to sound as neutral as possible. “Um… We started dating shortly after she moved in with her friend Pyrrha…”

_“And when was the last time you two went out on a date?”_

Blake paused, she really didn’t like this line of questioning. “Why do you ask?” She asked instead.

_“Oh no reason. Just something that the paparazzi mentioned had me confused so I was just asking for clarification.”_ Blake felt her stomach twist uncomfortably. Should she answer? To Blake, it felt like Weiss was trying to hint at something though the faunus couldn’t fathom as to what just yet.

Still, leaving Weiss’s question unanswered would just raise suspicion so Blake quickly thought of an answer that would satisfy the publishers inquiry. “Well if you must know, the last time we went on a date was several months ago. It was huh... It was the same day when we were outed as a couple by the media actually.” Blake worried at her lower lip, fearful if Weiss would buy into the lie or not.

_“Okay okay, you asked your boring questions. Can we discuss something more_ important _now?”_ Ruby’s voice cut in just then shaking the writer from her inner thoughts. However Blake didn’t know if she should be worried, or relieved by the younger girls intervention.

Weiss scoffed loudly. _“Fine, if you must.”_

Ruby had let out a small cheer before loudly declaring _“I must!”_ The younger brunette cleared her throat dramatically just then. When she spoke next it sounded suspiciously as if she was trying to impersonate Weiss’s professional tone but was having little success at it. _“Blake! Has my dear older sister had the chance to ask you out on a date yet?”_

Well, that at least could be answered truthfully. “Yes actually, she asked me last night. She’s supposed to text me soon about the details though. Because of my anxiety she likes to plan them out…” She added the last part almost as an afterthought. Though Blake had to admit, if only to herself, that the ability to tell the truth without her anxiety flaring felt _amazing_.

Of course there was no way for Ruby to know that as she let out an excited noise. _“Aw Yeah! I told her she had this! When’s the date? Where are you guys gonna go? Whatcha gonna wear!? These are important details I_ must _know!!”_

_‘Wow I can see why Yang occasionally claims that Ruby has more energy than a squirrel on caffeine…’_ Blake thought as she shook her head affectionately at the younger girls antics. “Ruby, I don’t know what we’ll be doing. I just know she wanted to have our date later today before we catch our flight home. As for what I’ll be wearing…” Yeah that was a different story as Blake looked down at herself, still clad in her comfy sweatpants and shirt. “I honestly have _no_ idea.”

_“This is Yang we’re talking about. I’m sure you could be wearing only a potato sack and she’ll_ still _think you look good.”_ Weiss commented dryly which caught Blake a bit off guard while the comment had Ruby laughing.

_“Well, you’re not wrong… Ooooor Blake could steal one of her shirts instead. Nothing fancy cause you know Yang, I mean… She’ll do the fine wining and dining thing but prefers to keep things simple and comfortable. Where would you even_ find _a potato sack in the middle of the city?”_

_“I was being facetious.”_ Blake could almost hear the blatant eye roll that followed Weiss’s statement.

_“_ Uuugh _, we really need to work on your sense of humor Weiss.”_

As the two continued to banter back and forth, Blake couldn’t help but think that Ruby’s idea wasn’t exactly the worst idea ever. Besides, Yang had brought far more clothing along with her than Blake had the foresight to. Furthermore she hardly had any clean clothes left, so surely Yang wouldn’t mind if Blake borrowed a single shirt, right?

Silently Blake set her scroll to speakerphone as she stood up to make her way over to her suitcase. Taking stock of what clean clothing she had left, Blake pulled out a pair of black leggings and a white long sleeve shirt. Well, Ruby did say that Yang prefered to keep things comfortable, and these certainly fit that description. Still, Blake couldn’t help by eye Yang’s duffle bag still laying on the bed from where the blonde had left it after changing clothes before leaving to meet up with Sun.

_“Blake? You still there? Hellloooo…. ”_ Ruby’s voice called out from her scroll, snapping Blake from her thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry. I was just trying to figure out what to wear for tonight is all.”

_“Probably for the best that we leave you alone then. I… Apologize by the way, if my questions seemed intrusive Blake.”_ Weiss’s sudden apology caused Blake to give her scroll a confused look.

“It’s okay Weiss. I’ll be sure to contact you once Yang and I are back in town tomorrow.”

_“I’ll be in touch.”_ And without further comment, Weiss had disconnected the call.

Blake spent a moment or two just staring at her scroll, eyebrows scrunched together as she tried to shake the odd feeling Weiss’s question left her with. _‘I’m probably just overthinking things.’_ She finally thought with a sigh, finally allowing the tension to release from her shoulders as she moved on to a much more difficult matter.

Which one of Yang’s shirts should she borrow?

\---

Weiss tapped her scroll with her forefinger, her brows scrunched together in thought. “ _Soooo_ why did you want to ask Blake about her and Yang? I mean, _I_ could’ve told you that they’ve been dating for two- _ish_ years.” Ruby asked her as she took a sip of her unhealthy mocha frappe concoction with extra chocolate syrup. Ugh… Why did she befriend this dolt again? That’s right, because of one meddling blonde who shall not be named at this time.

“I have my reasons.” She deflected coolly. She wasn’t going to voice her suspicions just yet, at least not until Blake was back in town tomorrow when Weiss would be able to properly confront her on the matter.

Ruby just gave her a toothy grin. “ _Ooooo_ so mysterious… It’s like you’re playing detective.” The younger woman apparently found the thought amusing as she smothered a chuckle behind the straw of her drink. “Detective Schnee, a private eye so serious, so thorough in her investigations that everything ranging from simple burglaries to puzzling homicides, there isn’t a single case she can’t crack…” She continued in a fake movie narrative voice.

Weiss narrowed her eyes at the brunette as she motioned to her steaming cup of black coffee. “I _will_ pour this on you and it _will_ burn…” Well at least that got Ruby to shut up as she rubbed the back of her neck with a nervous sounding laugh.

Tapping her scroll once more with her forefinger Weiss couldn’t help but think that Ruby wasn’t far off in her assumption. She was sort of playing detective wasn’t she? Ever since her encounter from yesterday, Weiss couldn’t help the lingering doubts that the troublesome shark had left her with as she watched Gregor practically carry the idiot like a sack of flour to get him out of her building. Still, just because Weiss was left with these unsettling suspicions didn’t mean that she couldn’t obtain answers in a more... _Tactful_ manner.

Speaking of tactful, she decided that she needed a way to speak with both Yang and Blake, preferably privately. And the sooner the better. “Ruby…”

The burnette perked up at the sound of her name. “Yessum?”

“Do you know who is picking up Blake and your sister from the airport tomorrow?” She attempted to sound conversational about it. Though having gotten to know Ruby over the last two weeks she doubted the deceit was even necessary.

She watched Ruby tap her chin as she scrunched her face in thought. “Lets see… I’m pretty sure that would be Pyrrha. Want me to text her to make sure?”

Weiss couldn’t withhold her small smile of triumph. “I would appreciate that actually. And if that’s the case, could you by chance let her know that there will be a change of plans?”

“Uuuh, okay… What _kind_ of change?” Ruby asked curiously as her fingers darted across her scroll in quick succession as she typed out her message.

“If it’s alright by her, I would actually like to be the one to pick them up from the airport.” She thought that she would have to add in some excuse for her decision but Ruby never asked for one as she went back to rapidly texting on her scroll with a bright smile.

When Ruby’s scroll chimed not long afterwards with Pyrrha’s answer, Weiss took a sip of her coffee feeling very accomplished. Now it was just a matter of patiently waiting until tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned for next week! Our bees will _finally_ have their date!! So expect ALLLLL the fluff. Also, pay no mind to that ticking noise. I’m sure it’ll pass… ;>.>


	34. The Best Date Ever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I had to drag Tuxedo away from playing silly video games in order to finish editing this chapter. So if there are any mistakes, I'm blaming them for being sucked into playing Horizon Zero Dawn again lol.

_“Hey pretty lady, are you just about ready to have the best date ever?”_ Blake couldn’t help but smile into her scroll at the evident excitement in Yang’s voice.

“Perhaps. Though dare I ask what we’ll be doing?” Blake asked as she held her scroll between her shoulder and cheek while she finished putting on her shoes.

_“Blake, seriously? If I told you that, then it wouldn’t be a surprise now would it?”_ Yang laughed a bit. _“Anyway, just thought I’d give you a heads up that I’m about fifteen minutes away. I’ll text you when I’m out front okay?”_

“Sounds good, see you soon Yang.” When she disconnected from the call, Blake was still smiling. Seeing as she was all set, Blake spent her time packing away her belongings. Judging by Yang’s earlier text messages, Blake suspected that their date would last long enough for them to enjoy themselves with just enough wiggle room to return to the hotel for an hour or two before they had to check in at the airport. So a little preemptive packing wasn’t a bad idea.

The whole process didn’t take nearly as long as she had initially thought so Blake decided to double check her attire in the bathroom mirror. She hoped that Ruby’s off handed comment turned advice would prove to be a good idea. She had chosen to wear both her leggings and the white long sleeve shirt. To complete her outfit, Blake had selected one of Yang’s black t-shirts that had a yellow emblem on the front right side. It was that same symbol that looked like a burning heart that she had seen Yang wear a few times and thought it would be appropriate for their date.

The sound of an incoming text caused one of her ears to twitch just as she finished double checking her appearance. Suddenly finding herself nervous, Blake gave her reflection a determined nod. “You can do this. Besides you have nothing to worry about, this is Yang you are going out with. Not some random person you hardly know.” When she caught her reflection smiling back at her, Blake knew she would be alright.

She quickly made sure that she had all her essential belongings, wallet, keys, scroll and her reading glasses, before darting out the hotel door. Making her way downstairs she was barely able to contain her excitement with each step as she walked through the lobby. In fact, there must have been something to be said about how excited she was as Blake breezed past a large cluster of people without so much as a peep from her phobia. Even outside, the people around her were nothing more than blurs of color, blending into the background as her gaze honed in to where Yang was waiting for her.

Even in the late afternoon sun, her blonde hair still made the former fighter stand out like a shining beacon. Yang was standing in front of a plain looking Honda civic waving enthusiastically at the faunus with a bright smile that rivaled the shine of her hair.

“You know, I was a bit worried you’d rent something flashier for tonight.” Blake couldn’t help but comment as she walked up to the smiling blonde.

Yang flashed her a toothy grin. “Oh trust me, I ended up talking myself out of renting a motorcycle. And let me tell you, that was the _hardest_ conversation I’ve ever had with myself.”

“I appreciate the sacrifice you had to make for choosing something a bit more practical. Maybe next time I’ll allow you to convince me to get on a two wheeled death trap.” Blake couldn’t help her coy smile. She had to admit that the way Yang was staring at her, the blonde having noticed the borrowed t-shirt, with such open admiration was definitely a confidence boost. Blake made a mental note to thank Ruby properly later. For now though she couldn’t help her smile grow a bit more.

“Yang, my eyes are up here.” She teased. She was instantly rewarded with the rare sight of Yang being graced with a blush creeping up her neck, just visible over the collar of her flannel shirt as she snapped her lilac eyes up to the appropriate level.

“R-right…” She stuttered out as she walked around the vehicle to hold open the passenger side door for Blake. “You look really good by the way…”

For whatever reason the comment made Blake suddenly shy as she felt completely under dressed to receive such a compliment. “Thank you.”

Yang was quick to close the door and return to the drivers side once Blake was settled. After securing her own seat belt Yang turned to blatantly stare at Blake. “You know I’m being serious right? I should just give you all of my shirts for you to wear…” Her lilac eyes almost appeared to drink in the faunus’s appearance along with her words, causing Blake to blush.

It didn’t sound like a bad idea if Blake was being honest. Wearing Yang’s shirts allowed her to be engulfed in her comforting scent after all. “But if I did that, then what would you wear?” Blake found herself asking instead as she pulled the shirt collar up to her nose in an effort to have something to hide behind. Just as Yang pulled away from the curb Blake may, or may not have also slowly inhaled the lingering smell of vanilla along with the scent that was purely Yang.

Even with Yang’s attention maintained on the road ahead as she drove to an unknown destination, Blake could see the playful smile that spread across her face. “Well, I guess I’d just have to get used to being forever topless then wouldn’t I?”

Blake’s mouth fell open in shock as her imagination assaulted her with excessive amounts of scandalous thoughts. “Yang!” She lightly smacked the blondes thigh as Blake felt the hot blush of embarrassment inflame her cheeks.

This of course just led to more laughter pouring out of Yang. “ _What_? You forget that as a kickboxer, not only did I have to walk around during official weigh-in, but also fight in nothing but a sports bra and booty shorts Blake.” She said with a shrug, completely unknowing of the fact that her comment had sent the writer's imagination into overdrive with new ammunition. Trying not to fidget in her seat, Blake curiously witnessed lilac eyes glance in her direction along with Yang’s smile widening into something more mischievous. “Quit thinking about my butt babe.”

Okay, so perhaps Yang _did_ know the effect her comment had on the writer. That still didn’t stop Blake from slapping the laughing woman in the shoulder when they were at a four way stop.

The first stop they made was at a quaint little coffee shop that was drive through only. What made it interesting though was that it was built inside an old car wash station. So after they placed their orders, they rolled the car up onto the conveyor and were effortlessly carried through a tunnel filled with creative coffee related graffiti all the way to the end where they picked up their drinks. Armed with caffeinated beverages, Yang then drove them to the edge of town where a bird sanctuary and nature walk was located.

“So according to Neptune, this place is popular for mountain bikers this time of year. But for most folks, it’s considered a bit too warm to be socializing outside. So what do you say Blake? Wanna join me for a walk around the park and show the locals that this weather is nothing to a couple of hardened Vale citizens?” Yang asked just as she parked the car close to the park entrance.

Blake couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Sure.” She watched Yang beam at her as she hopped out of the car.

She was right though, the weather was pleasant as they strolled around the large man made lake hand in hand. There were a few families out, mostly sitting by the waters edge feeding the birds or fishing, but they came across no one else as they continued to walk along the trail. They saw several species of ducks and heron lazily floating about on the water’s surface. Some swam up to them in hopes of food but would quickly lose interest once they realized the couple had nothing to offer. Blake even pointed out a few swans relaxing on the far bank, their long necks bent with their heads tucked underneath a wing as they dozed in the shade.

As they followed the trail deeper into the park, the trees became taller. Their branches towering high above them in a leafy canopy bursting with life. Little sparrows sang their songs as they flew from tree to tree. One even landed on top of Yang’s head, looking very proud of itself as it puffed out its chest feathers. Blake found the whole ordeal quite amusing much to Yang’s chagrin.

After a significant amount of pictures, and pleading on Yang’s part, Blake finally assisted in freeing Yang from the “evil oppression of Sir Puffs the Smol.” Who would have thought that the former fighter had a flare for being over dramatic. Definitely not Blake as she couldn’t help but laugh lightly as Yang threw her arms around her shoulders with an over exaggerated and loud exclamation of “my hero!” before rewarding her with a sloppy kiss on the cheek.

In total, they perhaps spent about an hour just walking around the park. Blake admittedly enjoyed herself more than she thought she would as the two of them headed back to the car in order to head towards their next destination.

It really shouldn’t have surprised the faunus that the next stop on Yang’s ‘ _great date_ ’ agenda was a bookstore located just a few minutes away from the sanctuary. Much like the first bookstore she had visited with Yang, Fireside Books looked a bit out of place as it was overshadowed by the neighboring establishments. The interior was the only difference as it was much larger than Tucsons, with it’s open floor layout filled with evenly spaced bookshelves packed neatly with countless books.

“Sooo…” Yang began slowly as they entered the bookstore. “I know it’s been a while, but are you down to play the book game with me?” There was a hopeful note in her voice as she waited for a reply.

Blake raised an eyebrow at her as a small smile played on her lips. “Just the two of us? Wouldn’t that be a bit boring though?”

Yang gave her a playful shove with her hip as she quirked her own brow in challenge. “What? Afraid I’ll whoop your butt Belladonna?”

Well that certainly had Blake raise her eyebrow just a bit higher as she folded her arms. “Hardly.” She said with the barest amount of amusement to her tone, knowing full well that Yang would take it as a challenge, like it was meant to be.

Of course, Yang took the bait as she pursed her lips with a slow nod. “Alright Blake, if you’re so confidant, let’s make things interesting. We’re only allowed to win points the old fashioned way! Title and summaries are to be judged _only_ , so don’t think you’ll win by salvaging or rewording the descriptions little miss ‘ _I’m an author_ ’.” She said with air quotations. "We’ll call Pyrrha in the event of a tie and the loser gets to pay for dinner. Deal?”

“Deal.” Blake agreed as she felt her smile spread across her face to resemble something a bit predatory as she followed Yang further into the store.

For the start of their game, they easily settled on the romance section but had to flip a coin to see who would start things off. Which happened to be Yang as she confidently strolled through the aisles for a moment before picking out a book. The cover only portrayed the torso of a _very_ scantily clad woman laying on silk sheets with her hands bound with what looked like a suit tie. Its title, ‘ _Treasured_ ’, was written in barely legible cursive.

“Of course you’d start off with some BDSM fantasy novel…” Blake commented dryly. She wasn’t necessarily harping on Yang for liking such novels, she herself would neither confirm or deny reading her fair share in the past. But when Yang gave her such an easy target to tease her over, how was Blake expected to resist such temptation?

Impervious to such a blatant tactics however, Yang just shot Blake a wink as she flipped the book over. “You know it!” Clearing her throat dramatically, Yang finally began reading. “Liam Wagner is an established older man- married, wealthy, powerful, and above all, _respectable_. Then he meets Dahlia, a virginal uninhibited twenty-three year old yoga instructor and painter, not exactly the type of woman Liam is accustomed to. But the young and free spirited woman brings out something in him that he previously only thought possible in his _wildest_ dreams. When their scorching affair becomes something unexpectedly deeper, Liam finds himself torn between preserving his marriage alongside his reputation, or further exploring this wilder and much more satisfying lifestyle.” Yang finished with a suggestive smirk shot at the faunus.

Blake however must’ve had a disturbed looking expression on her face as Yang began to chuckle softly at her. “Well?” She asked as she put the book back where she had found it.

Admittedly she felt like face palming. “Okay, forget what I said earlier about the BDSM thing. What you have there is a _dad fetish_ romance novel if I ever heard of one.” After saying it out loud, Blake really did facepalm. “Point…” She muttered through her fingers.

“Hey don’t hate me ‘cause I’m already in the lead, I just picked that one out because of the hot chick on the front.” She said with a shrug. “More importantly Blakey, how are you gonna top that?”

Judging by the way the blonde wiggled her eyebrows at Blake, there was a double entendre to her words which the writer promptly ignored as she pointedly scanned the rows of books in front of her. She was consciously aware of Yang moving to stand just behind her, watching her with amused lilac eyes which only prompted Blake to take longer in her selection. If Yang thought she was going to win through distracting Blake, well, she thought wrong.

Finally her golden eyes landed on a book whose title alone had caused her to do a double take. Easily plucking it from the shelf, Blake held it high enough so that Yang could see it over her shoulder.

“Wait… _Seriously_?” Yang’s reaction upon reading the title had Blake smile knowingly.

The books cover was as cliche as they come: a swooning woman wearing a flowing victorian style dress, held in the arms of an overly handsome man wearing a ruffled sleeved dress shirt. Their lips were barely separated as if they were caught halfway between some romantic confession or about to share in an overly passionate kiss.

“ _‘The Count with the Serpent Tattoo’_ …” Blake began by reading the title before flipping the book over to read the summary. “Known only as The Rukh, he is a man with no name, no past, and no memories. Found shortly after awakening in a mass grave in the middle of the woods, the only clue to his mysterious origins is the magnificent serpent tattooed on his muscled forearm. His only hope for survival in a world he doesn't remember- along with his salvation- lies within the deep fiery eyes of the lonesome Loreley who found him. Who nurses him back to health and calms the restless demons that lurk within his soul.”

As she finished reading the summary Blake leaned back into Yang, the blonde instinctively setting her hands on her hips as she rested her chin on the writer's shoulder. “Damn, and here I was hoping for some knock off male version of _‘The woman with the serpent tattoo.’_ Way to crush my hopes and dreams there Blakey.”

Blake hummed in agreement as she placed the book back on the shelf. “Not my fault that there are writers out there that try to bring diversity to the ‘ _grandma romance_ ’ genre by using false advertisement.”

Yang smirked. “You mean adver- _tease_ -ment babe…” The scoff Blake made at the play on words had Yang smothering a chuckle in the faunus’s shoulder. “But yeah, that title alone was _definitely_ worth a point.” She said just as she placed a kiss to Blake’s shoulder before stepping away to scan the rows of books for her next target.

They spent far too long reading terrible romance novels back and forth. And after an hour of doing so, there was still no telling who would win the book game. Yang hand just finished reading what would be her last book, titled _‘How I accidentally became a werewolf’_ , which honestly Blake awarded a point for the title alone because there was _no_ feasible way one can ‘ _accidentally_ ’ become a werewolf. It’s either forced upon you (as was the case after hearing the books summary), you intentionally undergo the process of becoming a werewolf, or you’re born as one.

“Wow Blakey, you are reading way to much into the title. Not that I’m complaining of course.” Yang teased as she put the offending book back on the shelf.

“Yes well, _excuse me_ for having standards when it comes to wording…” She said as she turned towards the last row of books they haven’t gone through yet.

“Alright Blake, last book. Lets see what ya’ got.” Yang, for her part, was enjoying herself as she waited for Blake to make her selection with her hands on her hips.

Blake rolled her eyes as she tried her best to appear annoyed. Truthfully she was enjoying herself as well. Though most of her enjoyment was gained not from the countless terrible books that they came across but rather the easy interactions she shared with Yang during their game. Like how Yang would effortlessly touch Blake, holding her hand or playfully bump their hips together. Or how she would lightly kiss Blake on the shoulder or the cheek without hesitation causing Blake’s heart to sore. Granted, she would much prefer _real_ kisses, but she decided she was okay with the light pecks for now considering she’d rather not be caught necking in the middle of a bookstore. Maybe when they got back to the hotel...

Quickly shaking herself from that particular train of thought with a firm promise of later, Blake refocused her attention on the shelf in front of her. And that’s when her golden eyes landed on the perfect book to end their game on.

She shot Yang a knowing smile as she pulled the book from the shelf and did her best to hide the cover from curious lilac eyes. “Mind if I read the summary first before I show you the title?” She asked as innocently as she could.

“Sure, why not?” Yang answered with a simple shrug.

Blake tried her best to not give away too much with her smile then as she began to read the summary aloud. “Some things just never seem to go away, like arch nemesis, bad tasting ale, and obnoxious family members. But I thought I was _finally_ finished with the one person, or more specifically, the one dragon that I’d once do anything for: Gréine the Gold, a strong, gorgeous, blonde-haired beast who thinks the world belongs to her. The world and, apparently, _me_.” Blake read slowly, putting more effort into her tone of voice than she had with previous books.

“So,” she continued, “if Gréine wants to play the _daring_ _hero_ and travel into the most forsaken of _Gods forsaken_ lands to protect the one woman who doesn’t need it- namely myself- I’ll let her. Because while I’m trying to fulfill the most _ridiculous_ quest bestowed upon me by a pushy goddess, I’m going to draw this overconfident champion much too close, rekindle her inner fires, and enjoy every second of her delicious defeat.” Blake finished by giving Yang an expectant look.

Yang was looking at her with a smirk and quirked brow. “Okaaaay... “ Before she continue Blake had flipped the book over so that Yang could read the title for herself and watched her eyes first grow impossibly wide before descending into a fit of barely restrained laughter. “ _Pfffft_ wha- _‘How to Drive Your Dragon Crazy’_ , really Blake!? Oh my Gods...” Yang barely managed to say in a harsh whisper before succumbing to fit of laughter that she desperately tried to smother behind her hands with little success.

Needless to say, Blake was declared the winner. They didn’t even have to involve Pyrrha to play tie breaker, though that didn’t stop Yang from sending the redhead a picture of Blake holding the ‘winning book’, she called it.

From there, it was just late enough in the day that dinner wouldn’t be considered too terribly early. Plus, the sound of food wasn’t such a bad idea as both of their stomachs started to make verbal protests about how they had skipped lunch. So Yang drove into town with assurances that they were headed to a place that had Blake’s ‘Best Bro’ stamp of approval. She of course rolled her eyes at that. Once they pulled up to the Trippy Truffle however Blake was hit with a wave of nostalgia.

“You know, it’s interesting that you decided we should have dinner here.” Blake began as she walked up to the sleepy looking building hand in hand with Yang.

“Oh?” She gave the writer a curious smile.

Blake just gave her a small nod as they made their way inside. “My parents and I would occasionally eat here whenever I tagged along during their business trips as a kid.”

“You don’t say? Well here’s hoping that this place still stands up to your childhood memories then.” Yang said with a smile as she opened the door for Blake.

They were quickly greeted by the hostess and were seated in one of the booths located on the second floor. More like a raised platform actually as the height difference between the two floors was only a mere three feet. But it was close enough to the bar that it was unlikely that they would find themselves surrounded by groups of families later on.

Yang had deferred to Blake as to what they would be eating for the evening once the waiter came to take their order. So of course she ordered the holy shiitake pizza, easily remembering it as one of her favorites as a teenager. When the waiter left, Yang teased her that she was already drooling. Just because she was only _partially_ right didn’t stop Blake from lightly kicking the blonde under the table.

When the waiter set their drinks down in front of them and left once more, Yang cleared her throat lightly. “Sooooo…” She had started to say before pausing.

“So?” Blake repeated after a moment.

“So what could two people possibly talk about on a first date when we already know each other?” Yang looked at her expectantly as she took a sip of her soda. “I mean, if you think about it, on one hand we totally lucked out with avoiding the whole awkward first date vibes. But on the other…”

“We don’t really know how to proceed as a couple instead of friends?” Blake supplied as she drew lines in the condensation that had accumulated on the side of her cup.

“Yeah. Sorry, I don’t really mean to make things awkward because we were having fun and all... Wait, you are having fun right?” The look of honest concern on Yang’s face caused a smile to form on Blake’s lips.

“Currently, yes. However I’m withholding my judgement until the end of our date to tell you if this has been the best date ever.” Blake did her best to keep her tone teasing as she gave Yang a small smile.

Yang smiled back at her. “Well, I guess I have until the end of dinner to finish impressing you then.” She said with a wink.

Blake couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You don’t have to impress me Yang. I… I fell in love with you a long time ago.” While she was busy blushing at her own admittance, Blake felt Yang extend her feet beneath the table to circle around her ankles.

“Oh yeah? And when was that? You know, curious minds and all that jazz.” Yang rested her elbow on the table, chin in her palm. There was a certain playfulness dancing behind her lilac eyes that caused Blake’s blush to grow just a smidgen.

Instead of answering Blake decided to mirror the blondes posture. “Why don’t you tell me first?”

Yang let out a huff of laughter. “Really? I thought that I’d already established that I had the hots for you since day one?”

_‘Of course she misses the point.’_ Blake thought with an eye roll. “Yes, you _did_ mention that. But I was asking about when it became _more_ than just a crush for you.”

She watched Yang ponder the question for a bit, her eyes not breaking contact with Blake’s own. “I’m… not sure really. If I had to guess I’d say I didn’t really start to think about what my feelings seriously meant until shortly after your first book signing.” She finished with a shrug.

Humming lightly, Blake continued to trace random patterns in the side of her glass. “For me, I knew I was fond of you when we had left for Patch, but it was when I tried making coffee for you when we got back home that I knew.”

That of course earned an amused huff from the blonde. “Really? You tried making me _coffee_ and _that’s_ when you _knew_?” There was skepticism as well as amusement in Yang’s voice. Not that Blake blamed her. It did sound ridiculous after all.

“Yang… I don’t own a coffee maker.” Blake said as she pointedly looked at the other woman who started to chuckle openly.

“Blake, that’s… I mean it’s funny, but honest- _tea_ , at the same time I think that’s just adorable.” Yang said before Blake fully caught on to the pun. When she finally did she felt her ears pull back as she facepalmed.

“You and your puns…” She groaned.

“Sorry babe, can’t stop won’t stop.” Yang said with another light laugh, clearly taking amusement in the writers reaction.

The writer was thankfully saved from Yang’s teasing by the arrival of their food, which turned out to be just as good as she remembered it being. Yang had also voiced her approval on the taste by practically inhaling her share.

Once the pizza was devoured in its entirety, Blake felt like a nap was in order. That is assuming Yang didn’t have any other plans for their date after dinner that is. She was just about to ask when she noticed Yang had perked up. “Okay so real quick Blake, as per our bet I lost the book game so I’m paying for dinner. But I wanna see who the waiter gives the check to…”

To Blake, Yang seemed far too excited over the prospect of paying for dinner. _‘But what did she mean by wanting to see who the waiter gives the check to?’_ Blake thought curiously as she tilted her head slightly in thought. Thankfully her curiosity didn’t have to wait long as the waiter came up. He cheerfully informed them that they could take it up to the hostess at the front when they were ready and to enjoy the rest of their evening before setting the check face down on the table. Directly in front of Blake.

Blake looked down at the check with confused blinking eyes before noticing the shocked expression of disbelief on Yang’s face. “What?” She asked, not knowing what the big deal was.

“Y-you!? _Really_? But I’m the one wearing _flannel_!” Yang’s voice held a certain mixture of offended and disbelief as she continued to gawk at Blake.

“What are you talking about?” She felt like she was missing something but didn’t know what as she slid the check across the table to Yang.

The blondes only response was to bury her head in her folded arms on the table top. “Give me a moment, my pride is gravely wounded here…” Blake barely heard the muffled words. After a moment Yang finally lifted her head with an added huff in an attempt to blow her bangs aside that had fallen askew on her face. “Blake, you seriously don’t know do you.” When her only answer was a shake of her head, Yang huffed again. “Okay, love you lots, but you are the most sheltered bisexual I’ve _ever_ met.”

Slightly offended by that comment, Blake felt an eyebrow shoot up impossibly high as she tried to convey as much with the look she shot Yang just then.

She of course just waved off the expression. “Blake, it’s a proven fact that when same sex couples dine in public whoever gets the check at the end is considered the top in the relationship.”

_‘The wh-_ Oh _.’_ Blake hid her sudden embarrassment behind her hand as she started to laugh. _‘So that’s why Yang seemed taken aback by not receiving the check.’_ She thought bemusedly. “Sorry Yang, you can’t always count on stereotypes to help you win.”

“Oh? So you agree that I’m the top then?” Behind the challenging look in Yang’s eyes was an entirely new beast that Blake had never before seen surface. Not quite lust but something similar in the way Yang looked at her. The writer couldn’t help but play along as she narrowed her golden eyes with her own primal expression as a knowing smile played on her lips.

“I didn’t say that. However that, my dear dragon, is a discussion for another day.” Blake said in a low tone as she stood, running her hand along Yang’s arm up to her bicep as she passed her as she headed for the front doors. Judging by the hungry look playing behind a pair of lilac eyes, Blake would later wonder if she was playing with fire with her random spurts of bold flirting.

Perhaps she was. And she was perfectly okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, stereotypes and all. Though I have to mention the books I used for the book game... Those are slightly abbreviated summaries with slightly altered titles from very real books Tux and I have come across during our own book game adventures. Again, you all should give it a go. It’s very inspirational and sometimes educational, but always full of fun! 
> 
> Please note that the next chapter MIGHT be a day or two late. I'm trying to go for a promotion at work so typing has been a little on the slow side. But we'll see.


	35. The Sharks in the Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! Managed to get this chapter done in time! Hope you all enjoy!

The few hours that they had left to themselves to just cuddle up on the loveseat didn’t seem nearly enough to Yang. Too soon it seemed when both of their scrolls started blasting their obnoxious alarms, alerting them that it was time to check out and head to the airport. The comfortable bubble of solitude they had made for themselves finally popping around them as they began the process of rejoining the rest of the world.

It sucked, sure, but at least she had Blake. Yang felt a goofy smile spread across her face for the umpteenth time as she looked over at said faunus. She was currently absorbed in a writing exercise on her laptop, her fingers furiously tapping away at the keyboard with her glasses precariously perched on the edge of her nose.

She was too cute. And now that they were officially dating, Yang felt zero shame in sitting back to just drink in the sight of her girlfriend. Heh, girlfriend. Now _that_ was a label Yang never thought she’d ever be able to use again. Yet here she was, on a plane heading back to Vale with her girlfriend sitting next to her.

Did she mention her super cute girlfriend?

As if she could hear Yang’s thoughts, Blake paused in her typing to look at her. Pushing her glasses up with a delicate finger as she offered Yang a shy smile. “What?”

Yang felt her own smile grow in return. “Oh nothing, just thinking how hot you look in glasses.” Oh yeah, possibly the best part about their new official status was that Yang no longer had to watch her brain to mouth filter. Sure, it’s possible that it may still get her into trouble, but the blush that spread on Blake’s cheeks just then made it a risk Yang was willing to take. Repeatedly even.

The moment was interrupted by the intercom coming to life as one of the stewardesses explained that they were approaching their destination, and that all electronic devices be turned off and whatnot. She watched Blake let out a small sigh and she saved her work before stashing her laptop away in her carry on.

It felt like no time at all had passed before they finally touched down at their destination. Once she was allowed to power back on her scroll, Yang noticed that it was barely five thirty in the morning. So hopefully, that meant getting to baggage claim wouldn’t be as nightmarish as it was in Haven.

Hopefully, being the key word here.

They waited for as long as possible before departing the plane. With the Vale airport not being nearly as busy as the one in Haven, Yang had expected it to still prove somewhat of a challenge to get Blake through the hustle and bustle of the airport. But thankfully Blake appeared to manage just fine, taking comfort in Yang’s close proximity as they kept close to the wall the entire way.

What shocked Yang more however was as they were waiting for the conveyor belt to spit out their luggage, Blake had confidentiality informed her that she was going to get them something to drink from the nearby coffee stand before Yang could say anything. She would have followed after her, but of course the conveyor belt chose that _exact moment_ to start spitting out everyone's belongings. So Yang had to content herself with nervously watching the faunus from afar.

When Blake returned with a small smile on her lips and a drink in each hand, Yang had just grabbed her duffel bag off the conveyor belt and sat it next to Blake’s suitcase. “I got you an iced chai because their coffee apparently wasn’t done brewing yet. I hope that’s okay.”

Yang couldn’t help but give the writer an amused look. “Alright, not to sound ungrateful, but who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?” Yang said with a lightness in her tone as she took the offered drink from Blake.

There was a light dusting of pink to Blake’s cheek as she suddenly looked a bit bashful. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Finding the faunus’s expression especially attractive Yang took a single step into Blake’s personal space, taking hold of her hip with her free hand. “Blake, you just waltzed over to the cafe over there, by yourself, and got us coffee.” Yang jerked her chin in the direction of said cafe. “ _And_ , might I add, you did it without so much as a second look at the cluster fuck of people _surrounding_ it.”

Blake looked like she was going to reprimand Yang for swearing. Though in her defense, it was the only way to properly describe the large number of people that looked as if they were about to mob the poor baristas for their caffeine fix. Seriously, has anyone heard of the term _safety hazard_ before? Apparently not. Either way, when Blake finally turned her head to see what Yang had meant, her ears tilted back.

“ _Oh_ …” Was all she said for a moment before giving Yang an embarrassed look. “I hadn’t really noticed…” With her ears remained tilted back Yang tried to offer comfort by rubbing circles into Blake’s hip with her thumb.

Yang gave her a proud smile, silently hoping that this small achievement wasn’t a one time thing for the faunus. _‘Maybe it’s because she knew I was nearby and felt safe enough to tell her phobia where to shove it…’_ Yang thought hopefully as she finally took a sip of her drink.

Only to immediately start choking on it as she tried not to cause a spit scene.

Admittedly, Yang wasn’t really a tea person to begin with. But even still, Yang was fairly certain that a simple iced chai _wasn’t_ supposed to taste like a cesspool of sour milk and corpses. No she wasn’t being over dramatic, her drink _literally_ tasted like something had _died_ in it.

“Oh my Gods Blake… What did they put in this? _Ass_?” Yang gagged out as she looked to her girlfriend as her eyes began to water. Blake herself had a slightly disgusted look on her face as she sipped her own drink.

“It does taste a little… _Off_ , I guess.” She said with a scrunched nose. That got Yang to raise a brow in confusion, seeing as the faunus was holding a hot cup with a string sticking out of the lid. If her drink tasted off then _clearly_ something was seriously wrong with the baristas working the cafe. Either that or they had a deranged sick sense of humor regarding torturing their customers with funny tasting drinks. Because seriously, how hard is it to make a simple cup of _hot water_ with a _tea bag_ thrown in?

“Sorry babe, I appreciate the gesture really I do, but I’m throwing this out.” Yang declared as she approached a trash bin, stopping only when Blake suddenly blocked her path.

“What? No you can’t do that. No tea should ever be wasted…” In which Blake was quick to take the drink from Yang’s grasp before she could toss it and took a sip. She probably did it to prove to Yang that it was fine, even if it did leave the blonde with the need to desperately brush her teeth with steel wool. And by the look of Blake’s face the moment the liquid came in contact with her tongue, Yang knew she probably felt the same.

“I take it back, no tea _except_ for this one…” Blake said as she promptly tossed the drink into the bin, all the while looking as if she was about to throw up.

Yang wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling the writer close enough to plant a kiss on her forehead. “It’s the thought that counts.” She commented amusedly. “Now how about we blow this popsicle stand and head home hmm?” Blake offered her a sheepish smile and a nod in response, grabbing her suitcase while Yang slung her duffel bag over her shoulders.

Once outside, neither one spotted Pyrrha’s large red vehicle. Which was odd. Yang distinctly remembered her promising that she’d be the one to pick them up when they returned home. So where was she? Yang was just about to dig out her scroll to call her when she heard Blake take a sharp intake of air, capturing the blondes attention. “What is it Blake?”

The faunus had a confused expression on her face before her ears tilted back sharply. “Weiss is here…”

“Wait really? How can you…” Just then a white Lexus pulled up in front of them, the tinted driver side window rolling down to reveal none other than Weiss Schnee behind the wheel.

“Apologies, but I swapped responsibilities with your friend Pyrrha in order to pick you up.” She answered before Yang could even utter a single word. Weiss must of saw how Yang had her mouth hanging open with her scroll still in hand.

Thankfully, since Yang was still finding herself still too flabbergasted to properly speak, Blake greeted the publisher. “It’s no trouble Weiss. Thank you for picking us up.” She waited for the trunk to be popped open so she could stuff her suitcase inside, quickly prompting Yang to do the same before they both climbed into the back seat.

The drive to Blake’s house was filled with what felt like forced conversation in Yang’s opinion. Yes Weiss tried to keep things pleasant by asking them about their time in Haven and how the convention had went, but she mostly addressed her questions towards Blake. At first, Yang just thought she was imagining the atmosphere being a bit weird because it’s _Weiss_ , and she hadn’t really had the chance to hang out with her save for the odd meeting or two. Which she didn’t count because of her seemingly unbreakable habit of remaining professional the entire time. At one point, Yang made eye contact with Blake and saw that the writer looked a bit disturbed herself.

So maybe Yang wasn’t the _only_ one thinking it was strange that the publisher had decided to pick them up. At least once they finally arrived at the writers home, their suspicions had kept them from being completely surprised when Weiss asked if she could join them inside.

“I apologize for the intrusion. I understand that you two are probably tired from your trip, but I’m afraid this cannot wait.” Weiss wasted no time in explaining as Yang sat their luggage down in the living room while Blake, predictably, went into her kitchen to make some tea.

It didn’t escape the blondes notice how she dumped the tea she bought from the airport down her sink, no doubt it having grown cold and possibly even worse tasting. For some reason that amused Yang, but she would comment on that later. For now, Yang plopped herself down on the sofa in an effort to look unfazed by whatever it was that Weiss had wanted to talk to them about.

“What’s this about Weiss? Is it about you hanging out with my sister? _OH_! Or perhaps are you trying to ask me permission to date her?” Yang said with a playful smile. Yes, humor was just the thing to break this weird tension. Or at least she hoped.

It had the desired effect at least as Weiss visibly bristled at the comment. She glared at Yang with puffed out cheeks for a second, resembling an angry squirrel before letting out an annoyed huff as she crossed her arms. “No it is not, and _no_ I am _not_. Really must you be so, so… _Ugh_ …” Weiss rubbed at her temple with one hand has she continued to appear annoyed by Yang’s inquiry.

_‘Heh, victory!’_ Yang smiled victoriously as she mentally patted herself on the back.

Blake came over just then with a tray containing a tea pot and enough cups for everyone present. She handed a cup to Weiss who offered a quiet thank you before sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. Yang had thought that Blake would then sit next to her, but instead the writer sat on the armrest behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder. Not that Yang was complaining. The arrangement made it so she could lean back against the faunus as she turned slightly on the couch to better face the concerned looking publisher.

“Yang does make a point though Weiss. You’re hardly ever this formal, even with me.” Blake said just as Yang reached up with her right hand to intertwine her prosthetic fingers with Blake’s own.

Weiss played with the rim of her mug for a moment, as if trying to gather her thoughts before meeting both of their gazes with questioning blue eyes. “I’m not sure exactly how to word this so I’m just going to go ahead and say it out right.” She said evenly as she took a delicate sip of her tea.

If Yang wasn’t already fighting with the sudden feeling of uneasiness in the pit of her stomach, she would have found it amusing how Weiss drank with her pinky finger extended.

When neither Yang or Blake made any comment, Weiss sighed heavily and sat her tea down on the coffee table. When she next looked at the couple, her eyes were like hardened steel. “Just how long were the two of you planning on continuing with this charade?”

Yang tried not to visibly gulp. _‘What does she mean by that? Crap, does she know? How did she figure us out?’_ Her mind continued to race as she felt Blake tense up behind her. No doubt the writer was sharing similar thoughts. “What…” Yang tried to say, but apparently Weiss was in no mood for the playing innocent card as she held up a hand to halt Yang from finishing her sentence.

“Please, don’t act all innocent with me. You both do realize that I’ve been a popular target for the media to bother ever since this whole mess began, right?” Well that was news to Yang. If she had known that… Actually no, she wouldn’t have known what to do with that information any better than she does now. Suddenly worried how Blake would handle the information she leaned back to look at the faunus.

It wasn’t surprise that Yang saw written on the dark haired woman’s face, but something more akin to fear. “Weiss, I… I can explain.” Blake had started to say, her voice sounding very small.

“I’m sure you could.” Weiss said with a sigh. “Though I would much rather know why you couldn’t just tell me you never had a girlfriend in the first place Blake. I could have worked out something on your behalf, because I thought we were _friends_.” Yang felt Blake flinch behind her at the level of hurt that could be heard in Weiss’s voice.

“We are friends, it’s just…” As Blake struggled to explain, Yang distantly remembered the first time she ever witnessed Blake dive head first into a full blown panic attack. Fearing a repeat performance was about to occur, Yang quickly intervened.

“Weiss, please don’t be mad at Blake. I mean hell... When I found out, by complete accident mind you, Blake damn near gave me a heart attack from the massive panic attack she had right after.”

That at least had given Weiss a moment of pause. “Really now?”

Yang nodded as she turned her head to plant a kiss on Blake’s palm to silently reassure her that she was there for her. She heard Blake take in a deep shaking breath as she held onto Yang’s hand tightly. “I um… When that news article came out, that was the first time I met Yang. The reporter was initially trying to ask me about my upcoming events. He wasn’t even aware that he was…”

“That he was a complete _ass-hat_ and was in your personal space where he had _no_ business being.” Yang supplied when Blake had paused. She heard Blake huff out the smallest of amused sounds. Not quite a laugh but Yang would gladly take it over any further signs of distress emanating from the writer.

Weiss had lifted an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent, nodding for Blake to continue.

“Yang had happened to be there and intervened. He left, and I thought it was the end of that. But when the article hit the next day, and I… I panicked.” Blake paused to take in another deep breath. “After you called me that morning, I ended up contacting Yang and had her come over. At the time, I reasoned it was for us to figure out how to tell people that the reporter had published his article under false pretenses but…” 

“ _Buuuut_ then I made the mistake of asking what her _actual_ girlfriend thought of the whole misunderstanding and it sent her into a panic attack. Once she calmed down she sorta blurted out the truth.” Yang finished for her with a laugh. “Yeah… It was an eventful Tuesday.”

Weiss looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyes losing some of their hardness as she sighed. “I see. But then why not just tell me this to begin with? Why pretend to be an item when some idiot published an article without checking his facts first?”

Blake had removed herself from the armrest then. Yang tilted her head back just in time to see the faunus begin to pace lightly and huffed at the sight. It wasn’t hard for her to realize that it was a nervous habit for the writer, but what could she do?

“Weiss, I’ve tried to tell you the truth. On _multiple_ occasions. But I... I would panic.” Blake began as she hugged herself tightly, her ears tilted slightly back. “Each and every time I would panic, and I would ultimately just tell you another lie because it was just so much easier than coming out with the truth.”

“If it helps, we’re actually dating now _soooo_ …” Yang tried to interject, only to have Weiss glare at her for interrupting. What? It’s not like she was wrong. Oh well. She just held up both her hands to wave off the publishers ire.

Unfazed by the interruption, Blake continued. “Weiss, I… I understand this is something I should have told you, a long, _long_ time ago. But why…” Unable to finish her sentence, she gestured between Yang and herself. At least she stopped her pacing.

Weiss on the other hand sighed heavily. “I started to suspect something was amiss after being introduced to Ruby actually.” _Wait what_? Yang couldn’t help the dumbfounded look she shot her then. What did she mean by that? What suspicions? Ruby shouldn’t have known anything of substance that could possibly lead to any sort of suspicions. Right…?

Almost as if hearing the questions running through the blonde’s head, Weiss pointedly met Yang’s gaze. “She mentioned that your recent visit to Patch was the first time you had been home since moving to Vale. But I _distinctly_ remember all those times Blake informed me that her _girlfriend_ was away visiting family.” Weiss sighed heavily with a shake of her head. “And then of course there was that idiot reporter from the other day. Bursting into my workplace all but demanding where he can locate either one of you so that he could gather more details regarding the latest accusations involving Yang.”

Yang found herself narrowing her eyes at Weiss just then. “What do you mean by that exactly?”

Weiss was quick to pull out her scroll from her pressed slacks even before Yang had finished her sentence. “The sharks finally figured out why you haven’t made any public appearances since your last match.” She said as she continued to make a few taps on her scroll screen. When she found what she was looking for, she wordlessly handed the device over to Yang. “Apparently, since they’ve been unable to obtain an official statement from your former coach along with myself being equally uncooperative, they somehow managed to track down an ex-girlfriend of yours. As you can see, she gave quite the _fanciful_ tale for them to feast on.”

The headliner caught Yang’s eye first as it was in big bold letters, before skimming the rest of the article with increasing amount of anger.

**Lizabeth Nordigreen Tells All!**  
_The once rumored power couple between middleweight kickboxer champion Yang ‘Fire-Dragon’ Xiao Long and fashion model Lizabeth Nordigreen may not have been the fairy tale relationship we were all led to believe. In a recent interview, Ms. Nordigreen, who is now engaged to Atlesian Politician Henry Marigold, reveals shocking information regarding her year and a half long relationship with the former kickboxer…_

As Yang eyes scrolled over the small online article she felt her blood reach to a near boiling point as she caught certain words. Words like, _problems with alcoholism_ , and a _dulterous behaviors_. Really!?

“Thankfully, Ruby assures me that the accusations she made regarding your previous relationship are false.” Weiss calmly stated, almost as if she knew Yang was about ready to start screaming. Which she was but it wasn’t Weiss who she wanted to scream at.

_‘False? More like a cartload of horseshit!’_ Yang thought bitterly as she thrust the scroll back to the publisher, unable to read any more of the article. She felt Blake rest a hand on her shoulder again, apparently having read over her shoulder without realizing it. Still, she took comfort in the small contact. “I can’t believe this.” Yang finally said after a moment, exhaling roughly through her nose.

“Well believe it.” The sharpness of Weiss’s tone caused Yang to tense. “Because with you refusing to give the media an official comment, accusations like _these_ are all that they have to go off of currently.” She said matter of factly. Like Yang wasn’t already made _painfully_ aware of that bit of information.

“So what are you suggesting?” Blake’s quiet voice asked as she squeezed Yang’s shoulder. Reminding the blonde that she was still there.

Weiss sat up just a bit straighter as she cleared her throat. “I’m suggesting Yang set up an interview and get ahead of the situation before things get worse.”

“Worse? How so?” There was clear confusion in Blake’s voice as she asked. Granted, Yang had a rough idea of what Weiss was getting at, but she waited for her to explain rather than allow her thoughts to jump the gun and go straight into panic mode.

Weiss just shook her head lightly at the writer. “Blake… There is currently no federal law that protects a celebrity’s rights to privacy. Even former celebrities like Yang are not entitled to such rights unlike the general public, like yourself or I. It’s because they are constantly in the spotlight, and virtually everything they do is in the public domain.” The longer Weiss spoke, the more she began to fidget. It honestly made Yang worried that she was legitimately concerned about things hitting the fan.

“So that’s why,” Weiss continued in a tone that bode no argument, “it’s perfectly reasonable for the press and paparazzi alike to go after their personal lives with such tenacity. But when that fails to give them the results that they want, the more desperate ones will then turn to utilizing a gray area by going after friends, family, even loved ones and credit them as inside sources. _That_ means, it’s only a matter of time before they come knocking at _your_ door.” Weiss finished by crossing her arms and sitting back against the armrest of the couch. The following silence was almost deafening as her words sunk in.

It was certainly an issue that needed to be addressed, and the sooner the better. Actually if Yang really thought about it, she should have taken care of her media problem a long time ago. Like, _long before_ she met Blake even. Sighing internally Yang mentally kicked herself for avoiding them for as long as she had. Because now, she was putting Blake at risk of shutterbugs not only bothering her but scrutinizing her every move made without Yang being seen by her side. God's how she hated this song and dance. Even back during her fighting days she loathed the media and their constant scrutiny. 

Back then, Yang only really had to worry about the media bothering her dad since Ruby had a different last name. Once they _almost_ figured it out, but they had mistook Ruby as a cute new mystery girlfriend when pictures came out of the two of them hitting up an ice cream stand. For whatever reason Ruby kept the article stashed in a drawer somewhere, but it still made Yang want to vomit every time she saw the article. She was just taking her sister out for ice cream to celebrate her acceptance letter into Beacon Academy for crying out loud!

Thankfully, the sound of Blake’s voice dragged Yang back to the present moment. “Weiss… How long have you known about this?. Not about the media or… I mean, how long have you known about _us_. Not initially being a couple that is.” She asked hesitantly, as if she was afraid of the answer. Truthfully, so was Yang as she waited for the publisher to reply.

“Officially? Twelve hours.” Weiss said with a small huff as she crossed her arms.

_Twelve hours!?_ Giving Blake a quick glance, Yang noticed that the faunus looked even more shocked than she was by the news as she opened and closed her mouth several times before Weiss interrupted whatever she was trying to say.

“So that means I’ve had twelve hours to think about it.” She started by pointing a finger accusingly at the both of them. “And in those twelve hours, I’ve decided that _I don’t care_. You have your reasons, sure. But the _next_ time something like this comes up, just know that you can come to me for help. I may not have a whole lot of friends Blake, but I cherish the ones I do.”

“Thank you Weiss.” Was all that Blake managed to say after a moment.

“Don’t thank me yet.” Weiss said as she stood from the couch, smoothing out her dress slacks and blouse briefly. “Not at least until after Yang has set up her interview and the media _finally_ lose interest in the two of you.” Yang remained seated as Blake walked Weiss to the front door. With the door halfway open, Weiss paused and turned to the faunus. “And by the way, if they do come knocking on your door, threaten them with a lawyer and see how fast they run.” There was something intimidating in the way that Weiss smiled just then. But Blake only nodded silently, quietly shutting the door after the publishers departure.

Well this was certainly not how Yang thought their return home would turn out. She had initially thought that she would be able to make a big announcement to her friends about her and Blake becoming an official item, not suddenly finding herself worrying about _how the hell_ she was going to set up an interview. And that’s not even touching on the massive headache regarding who she was going to call to set up said interview with. Actually Yang could already feel a headache forming behind her eyes as she thought of that stupid article Weiss showed her.

_‘Fucking hell Lizzy…’_ Yang thought as she rubbed at her eyes in a futile attempt to relieve the building pressure while leaning heavily against the back of the couch. She had her head hanging over the edge as she opened her eyes to see Blake standing above her.

“Hey…” She said with a weak smile.

“Hey yourself.” Blake replied with a small smile of her own before a look of concern took over her pretty features. “How are you feeling?”

The question caused Yang to let out a brief humorless laugh. “I feel like I should be asking you that. You looked like you were about to have a panic attack earlier.”

Blake hummed as she played with a strand of blonde hair that hung over the back of the couch. “I was. But you were here and… Yeah. You however, look stressed.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Blake repeated softly. She switched from playing with Yang’s hair to stroking her cheeks instead. Her touch was feather light, causing Yang to close her eyes as she began to relax. Just before she could fully doze off however, Yang felt a soft pair of lips connect with hers. The contact was too brief for Yang’s liking as she found herself chasing after the retreating warmth when Blake pulled away. When she heard the faunus chuckle softly above her, Yang knew she must of made some verbal noise of protest.

“Hey, get back here…” She whined out. Not caring if she sounded needy or not. She opened her eyes to see Blake leaning over her slightly, a smirk playing on her lips as she stood up.

“Make me.” Was all she said as she backed away from the couch.

Now, Yang couldn’t be sure if Blake knew exactly what she was doing to the blonde. But _damn_ was it working… The only warning Blake received was the predatory look Yang shot her just before she jumped over the back of the couch and began chasing the dark haired temptress.

Yang found herself laughing as she chased Blake throughout the house. Yes, she should be more concerned about what Weiss had told them earlier, including about thinking of just how she was going to handle the situation. But Yang figured that it could wait at least another day. Because as of right now, all Yang cared about was claiming her victory kiss when she finally managed to pin Blake against a wall somewhere in the hallway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternatively, I imagined Weiss’s grand appearance at the airport turning out to be like... _Just then a white Lexus pulled up in front of them, the tinted driver side window rolling down to reveal none other than Weiss Schnee behind the wheel. “Get in bitches we’re going places.”_ ;D Also that scene with the Chai Tea is based off real events... Thought I'd share that bit of information. 
> 
> Anywho, I just wanted to take this moment and say thank you to everyone who _thought_ Adam would be the conniving douchebag to go to the media, but sadly you are mistaken. He may be a popular person to have play the villain, (because he is one) buuuutttttt I decided to give him a bit of a rest. 
> 
> Also also- I GOTS THE PROMOTIONS!! W0OO000T!!


	36. July 20th- The interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following through with Weiss's advice, Yang has her long overdue interview with the media.

Yang bounced her knee in nervousness as she waited in the lobby. _‘Why did I let Weiss talk me into this? Oh right, fucking press…_ ’ She thought bitterly as she took a deep breath in an effort to calm herself. Unfortunately the action was met with little success.

_‘I wish Blake was here…’_ Yang thought not for the first time that morning. Alas, Blake was preoccupied with her own meetings. Namely the review board finally wanting to provide their feedback on Blake's latest book before they moved on to talking about publication. So that meant that Yang was on her own as she finally faced the ravenous wolves that is the media. Or perhaps sharks… Was that why Weiss referred to them as such?

“Ms. Xiao Long?” Yang’s thoughts were interrupted as her name was called by the receptionist standing by the front desk.

“Yup that’s me.” She tried to say cheerfully, letting the ‘p’ pop as she stood to follow them through a maze of hallways and various offices.

\---

“Well if it isn’t Yang Xiao Long! Damn girl look at you!” Yang was greeted enthusiastically by none other than Flynt Coal as she stepped into his office.

“Flynt, classy as always I see.” She replied with an honest smile as she shook hands with the journalist. When she had agreed to finally go through with an official interview, Yang quickly decided to reach out to Flynt. He had interviewed her a few times during her kickboxing days and knew him to be an honest man. Not to mention one of the best dressed in the business, next to Coco that is.

“You know me, a classic class act!” He said with a charming smile as he spun on his heel in an old fashioned sort of flare. “I gotta say though, I was surprised to hear you wanted to do an interview. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered you called me but I’m just curious when there are so many other fish in the sea. Ya’ feel me?” Flynt waved his hand, motioning for Yang to take a seat as he himself sat in the adjacent chair instead of the one behind his desk.

Yang ran a hand through her hair as she sat down. “I figured it was time to stop hiding I guess. Of course I reached out to you because you were the only person I cared to remember.” Yang tried to smile but the action felt strained to her. Flynt however, just smiled brightly at her.

“See? I knew my style left an impression.”

“It’s the fedora.” Yang agreed, causing them both to share in a small laugh.

The atmosphere became, well not exactly serious per se, but to Yang it definitely turned more professional as Flynt leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. “So what do you say Yang? Shall we get this show on the road?” Yang could only bring herself to nod stiffly. He produced a small recorder from his vest pocket and set it on the edge of his desk between them.

“Man, I gotta say, I’m excited to be interviewing you again. The last time I had the pleasure was during your pre-fight interview against Mercury Black wasn’t it?” Flynt said casually. Yang could see that the record button was pressed and thus knew that despite the conversational tone, the interview had begun. She suddenly remembered why she enjoyed interviews with Flynt, the way he conducted them made them feel more like a conversation between friends rather than an interrogation consisting of a series of repetitive questions.

“Yup, sounds about right. You rocked the fedora look even back then.”

Flynt shot her a wink with finger guns. “Sure did!” He agreed. “Though my style was nothing compared to the finesse you fought Black with. People still talk about that match as being one for the ages.” He let out a low whistle as if he was impressed. “But then there was your fight against Adam Taurus and suddenly people are left wondering what happened.” Yang tried not to flinch at how easily Flynt steered the conversation. And here she was thinking she had a bit of time before _he_ was brought up... Apparently not.  

“What happened was that Adam played dirty…” Yang couldn’t help but respond flatly, trying her best to stamp down how much the old wound still stung.

For his part, Flynt didn’t take notice the shift in her mood as he just nodded. “So I’ve gathered. Removed stuffing and wraps dipped in quick drying resin?” He let out another low whistle. “Hate to say it but you had the cards stacked against you the moment you stepped into the ring wit’ him. But damn girl, you gave him everything you had! I mean, I know you’re tough as nails but shit, how’d you manage to survive three rounds with him, with a broken arm no less?”

Yang let out a humorless laugh. How indeed? “One word: Stubbornness. My coach always told me that I was too stubborn to know when to quit. And I guess that match was a prime example of what he meant.” She let out a long sigh then, not knowing what else to say on the matter.

Thankfully Flynt didn’t push for more information either as he just offered her another nod. “Speaking of your arm, mind shedding some light on what exactly happened? Was it a result of your match with Taurus, or something else?”

_‘Ah yes… I was wondering when he would bring that up.’_ Yang thought tiredly as she tried not to bounce her knee out of nervous habit. In that moment she was half tempted to go back to talking about Adam if it meant she didn't have to talk about her arm. “It was uh… It was a mix of both the fight and a bit of bad luck actually.” She started to say before having to pause to take a deep breath to center herself. Strange how she had an easier time discussing the details of her arm with Blake when now all Yang wanted to do was find someplace to hide and forget the world existed. Again...

Unfortunately, seeing as that wasn’t a option, Yang cleared her throat and just focused on muscling through the story. Visualizing it as if she was ripping off a band aid that had been worn for too long. “Yeah as you can imagine my arm was in bad shape after the match was over. And as you know, I was transported to the hospital shortly after. But that’s where the bad luck comes in.” She leaned her head back to take a moment to just stare at the ceiling as she took in another deep breath and held it for the count of ten before roughly exhaling. “The ambulance I was in got into a pretty bad wreck and of course we were delayed until another ambulance could arrive. Once I made it to the hospital the doctors found out I developed a bone infection, and so, seeing as I was still unconscious from the crash, they decided to amputate my arm rather than risk my life trying to save the limb.”

Flint stared at her over the rims of his shades. “ _Daaaaaamn_ girl. Talk about bad luck indeed. Guess that explains your sudden retirement then huh?”

Yang offered a nod. “Yup. Pretty much.” Almost as an afterthought, Yang pulled her right hand from the depths of her beloved hoodie to show Flynt the brightly colored prosthetic. She figured that if she showed him the artificial limb now, it would hopefully save him the trouble, and her nerves, of him asking about it later. “At least I was outfitted with this bad boy. It's not a replacement for the real thing, but I make sure to make good use of it.” Yang paused as she flexed the fingers a bit before continuing. “But as you can imagine, even with this I’m still barred from ever fighting again.”

Thankfully Flynt didn’t spend longer than what was considered polite staring at her arm. “I can imagine. A shame really, your matches were always fun to watch.” He said after a moment before leaning back in his chair. “So then, what have you been up to these days? Rumor has it you’re dating an author by the name of Blake Belladonna.”

Ah yes… Now here was a topic Yang was more than willing to talk about. _‘Okay… Try not to gush Yang…’_ She mentally repeated as she felt herself give a real smile for the first time during the interview. “Nope, not a rumor. She and I have been dating for a while now and I gotta say, I couldn’t be happier.” She beamed.

Flynt bobbed his head. “Well that’s at least one rumor down. What about the others that were brought up by none other than your ex, Lizabeth Nordigreen?”

_‘Oh boy here we go…’_ Yang thought with a long sigh. Of course the tougher, more _uncomfortable_ questions were about to rear their ugly heads. Well, she couldn't do anything about it but buckle down and muscle through them. After all, if it wasn't for her ex, Yang wouldn't of have to go through this whole song and dance anyhow. _'Damn it Lizzy...'_ Yang mentally sighed as she tired her best to seem unfazed as she addressed Flynt's next question. 

\---

It was close to evening by the time Yang finally trudged through the front door of the townhome she shared with Pyrrha. She was beyond mentally exhausted, the interview with Flynt having taken more out of her than she had initially expected. Especially once the questions began to focus more on her ex more often than she would have liked.

Yang bonelessly flopped onto the couch, resting her still booted feet up on the coffee table that would surely get her in trouble with her redheaded friend if she were home. Luckily for her, Pyrrha was still at work. Well, even if she was home she might have forgiven Yang just this once given the amount of stress the blonde had to endure while answering questions about her ex through gritted teeth.

It felt as if by the end of her interview with Flynt, the mere mention of her ex’s name had Yang cringing to the point that she would have preferred the sound of nails on chalkboard. Seriously, she once considered Lizzy to be her best friend alongside being her girlfriend. However, it would appear that now she’s taking everything she knew about Yang and is now trying to use that against her. And for what? To have her name flashed in the headlines again? To be relevant? Yang really wanted to punch something...

At least now she had a better understanding of why Ruby never liked her at least.

Yang’s thoughts were interrupted as her scroll started going off. She let out an audible groan of dismay as she proceeded to dig it out of her sweater pocket, half tempted to just power it off without seeing who was calling her. She even toyed with the thought of throwing it across the room but she quickly dismissed that idea as she brought the device up to her ear.

“Hello?” She said flatly. Too tired to give her token greeting.

_“Wow, was it really that bad?”_ Despite herself, Yang found herself smiling at the sound of Blake’s voice.

“Oh you have no idea, but I’d rather not talk about it if it’s all the same to you.”

_“Ah, well in that case would you be interested in hearing how my day went?”_

Yang hummed at the thought. The answer was yes of course, buuut she had a better idea… “Blake, I’d _always_ want to hear about your day. But as much as I adore your lovely voice, why don’t you come over and tell me all about it in person?”

_“Oh? And why would I do that?”_ She already knew Blake was contemplating the offer just by hearing the smile in the faunus’s voice.

“Weeeeelll…” Yang begin. “I could make dinner for you for one. Second, I have a pair of pj’s just calling your name over here. I mean, I know you probably look good in whatever it is that you’re wearing right now but hey, it wouldn’t be a fancy dinner without dressing up a bit am I right?”

At that she heard Blake let out a small laugh followed by the sound of a car door shutting. _“Could a movie be involved somehow?”_

Yang felt herself smiling in victory. ”Whatever sappy romance chick flick you want babe.”

_“Fine, you convinced me. I’ll be over shortly, see you soon Yang.”_ And with that, their call was disconnected.

Feeling a renewal in energy, Yang bounced off the couch and proceeded to rummage her kitchen for just enough ingredients to make homemade pizza bagels. Once those were shoved into the oven, Yang put on a pot of water for tea, knowing Blake would want some, and then went hunting for a suitable pair of pajamas for her girlfriend to wear once she arrived. The fact that she did all of this with a smile never leaving her lips Yang couldn’t help but think that yes, her day may have been shitty, but an evening spent with Blake definitely made everything better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter I know, but with my new promotion I’m not able to write nearly as much as before. Thankfully I can crank out smaller chapters like this like nobody's business. :D *COUGH* _pluswearenearingtheendofthisfic_ *COUGH HACK WHEEZE* Oh excuse me… Sorry about that. 
> 
> Just an FYI, Lizzy is a mashup of Elin Nordegren and an ex-girlfriend that was mentioned on Barbara Dunkelman’s show, _‘Always Open.’_ Just thought I’d share since I know that my Easter eggs can be a bit obscure to say the least. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the fluff, and just in case you haven’t had enough of it yet, MORE IS INBOUND!!! So be sure to schedule your dentist appointments now in order to save your teeth later! <3


End file.
